Fiserv Reaping Where It Sowed, As Stock Wholesaler Bears Fruit

Fiserv Inc., though not often associated with high-flying Internet stocks, is profiting from the market frenzy for them nonetheless.

In its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the outsourcing giant disclosed that it owns 1.7 million shares of Knight- Trimark Group Inc.

Fiserv, an early financial backer, invested $500,000 in 1997. It got stock after Knight-Trimark held an initial public offering last July 8, at $15.875 a share.

The stock closed Friday at $116.9375, increasing the value of Fiserv's holding to $199 million.

Jersey City-based Knight-Trimark, a wholesale dealer of Nasdaq-traded and over-the-counter stocks, is a growing source of liquidity for day traders, the ones driving stock valuations, observers said.

"It's behaving like one of these e-commerce stocks," said Les Muma, chief executive officer of Brookfield, Wis.-based Fiserv.

For now, Fiserv is sitting on its hefty paper profit.

"We are not an investment bank," Mr. Muma said. "We've got to figure out what to do with them. These are good problems to have."

Fiserv's stock price closed Friday at $54.5625, up 4% last week. The stock is due to split three-for-two this Friday, affecting shareholders of record on April 16.

Fiserv reported first-quarter revenue of $337 million, up 23% from a year earlier. Net income rose 23%, to $33.4 million.

"We hit all of the numbers, and we hit them with ease, which means we are in good shape for the remainder of this year and into 2000," Mr. Muma said.