Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISV) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISV) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 15,241,013 shares, a growth of 89.3% from the November 30th total of 8,052,396 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 12,290,421 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 12,290,421 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days.

Fiserv Price Performance

FISV stock traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $67.50. 3,398,572 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,432,412. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $73.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.98. Fiserv has a 52-week low of $59.56 and a 52-week high of $238.59. The company has a market capitalization of $36.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Fiserv (NASDAQ:FISV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Fiserv had a net margin of 17.05% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The firm had revenue of $4.32 billion for the quarter. As a group, analysts anticipate that Fiserv will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Fiserv

In related news, Director Lance M. Fritz purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $65.18 per share, with a total value of $651,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 13,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $852,945.48. This trade represents a 324.04% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Paul M. Todd acquired 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $62.41 per share, for a total transaction of $1,060,970.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 24,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,526,111.73. The trade was a 228.10% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders purchased a total of 34,900 shares of company stock worth $2,211,971 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Fiserv by 35.2% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,781,919 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,324,073,000 after buying an additional 6,714,536 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,252,260,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Fiserv by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,724,666 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,264,178,000 after acquiring an additional 287,420 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fiserv by 4.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,778,795 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,055,301,000 after purchasing an additional 190,527 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its position in shares of Fiserv by 27.2% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,781,665 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $652,148,000 after purchasing an additional 807,916 shares during the last quarter. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on FISV shares. Morgan Stanley downgraded Fiserv from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $81.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. B. Riley lowered shares of Fiserv from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $99.00 target price (down previously from $220.00) on shares of Fiserv in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Fiserv from $170.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $119.58.

Fiserv Company Profile

Fiserv, Inc, founded in 1984 and headquartered in Brookfield, Wisconsin, is a global provider of financial services technology. The company develops and delivers integrated solutions for payments, processing, risk and compliance, customer and channel management, and business insights and optimization. Serving thousands of clients, Fiserv supports banks, credit unions, securities broker-dealers, leasing and finance companies, and retailers.

Fiserv’s core offerings include account processing systems that automate deposit, lending and transaction processing for financial institutions, as well as digital banking platforms that enable mobile and online banking services.