Fiserv Inc(NASDAQ: FISV) in the fourth quarter 2016 ended 31st December has reported the adjusted earnings per share growth of 16 percent to $1.16, which is in line with the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of $1.16. On the other hand, Fiserv had reported the adjusted revenue growth of 4.4 percent to $1.43 billion in the fourth quarter 2016, missing slightly the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $1.46 billion. The internal revenue grew 4 percent in the fourth quarter due to the 6 percent growth in the Payments segment and 2 percent growth in the financial segment.
Fiserv has repurchased 11.9 million shares of common stock for $1.20 billion in 2016, that included 2.6 million shares of common shares for $265 million in the fourth quarter 2016. Further, FISV has announced a new 15 million share repurchase authorization in the fourth quarter 2016 and had 20.5 million remaining shares authorized for repurchase as of December 31st, 2016.
In January 2017, Fiserv finished their acquisition of Online Banking Solutions, Inc., and has gained additional cash management and digital business banking capabilities, that complement and enrich FISV’s existing solutions.
For 2017, Fiserv expects the internal revenue to grow in a range of 4 to 5 percent. FISV also expects the adjusted earnings per share to be in a range of $5.03 to $5.17, that would represent growth of 14 to 17 percent over $4.43 in 2016.
Meanwhile, Genpact has signed a definitive agreement FISV, to acquire the assets of its Australia-based Item Processing Business (IPB), that serves three of the four major retail banks in Australia, handling approximately 70 percent of all checks processed in the Australian market. The financial terms will not be disclosed.
On the other hand, Fiserv has partnered with Marstone, Inc., which is a New York-based digital advisory firm, to offer the Powered by Marstone suite of digital investment advice solutions through the Wealth Management Network from Fiserv. Moreover, to support a single-platform strategy, the wealth management firms will now have access to innovative digital advice solutions that seamlessly integrate into the Unified Wealth Platform from FISV. The Marstone platform allows the wealth management firms to provide holistic account analysis, tailored portfolios, and an innovative user experience, which will add value to FISV.
FISV stock has risen 13.94% in a year (source: Google Finance). As per tipranks.com, 4 analysts has covered the stock while recommending a “Moderate Buy”. FISV has an average price target of $115, which is a further upside of 6.70%.