Shares of Fiserv Inc. dropped slightly Wednesday morning after Peter J. Heckmann, an A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc. analyst, downgraded the Brookfield, Wis., banking technology vendor's stock.
Mr. Heckmann lowered his rating to "hold/aggressive," from "buy/aggressive." He wrote in a research note published Wednesday that Fiserv's stock price had met his target.
"The strong run in the shares in 2006 have brought them close to our fair value estimate," he wrote.
Fiserv's stock closed down 1.62%, at $51.57.
Mr. Heckmann also lowered his earnings forecasts for Fiserv by 2 cents for the fourth quarter of last year, to $2.54 a share, and by 5 cents for all of last year, to $2.86. He cited "a better appreciation of the relatively high level of nonrecurring fees."
However, he also wrote that he supports the company's long-term efforts to reposition itself. Its chief executive, Jeff Yabuki, has been evaluating many of its units and has announced several reorganizations.
"We believe many of the changes are necessary to make Fiserv a more efficient company," Mr. Heckmann wrote.
