Ally Financial Inc. Increases Holdings in Visa Inc. $V

Ally Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) by 9.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,000 shares of the credit-card processor's stock after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the quarter. Visa accounts for about 1.5% of Ally Financial Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Ally Financial Inc.'s holdings in Visa were worth $11,665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of V. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Visa by 58.1% in the first quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 4,201 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $1,270,000 after acquiring an additional 1,543 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Visa by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,975,832 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $56,455,834,000 after purchasing an additional 1,054,343 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Financial Group raised its stake in Visa by 83.9% in the 1st quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 22,501 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $6,801,000 after purchasing an additional 10,267 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Visa by 43.7% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Investment Management LLC now owns 17,832 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $6,254,000 after purchasing an additional 5,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pincus Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Visa in the 4th quarter valued at $4,278,000. 82.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Visa

In other news, insider Tullier Kelly Mahon sold 57,272 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $364.97, for a total transaction of $20,902,561.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 49,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,125,140.14. This represents a 53.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 10,490 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.99, for a total value of $3,608,455.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,174 shares in the company, valued at $5,219,704.26. This trade represents a 40.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 90,759 shares of company stock valued at $32,375,779. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Visa Stock Performance

Visa stock opened at $371.09 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $353.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $329.61. The stock has a market cap of $662.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Visa Inc. has a 1-year low of $293.89 and a 1-year high of $373.97.

Visa (NYSE:V - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The credit-card processor reported $3.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.23 by $0.09. Visa had a return on equity of 67.68% and a net margin of 50.78%.The company had revenue of $11.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.98 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Visa Inc. will post 13.16 EPS for the current year.

Visa declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit-card processor to buy up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Visa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. Visa's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $432.00 target price (up from $412.00) on shares of Visa in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating and set a $427.00 price target (up from $410.00) on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Clear Str upgraded shares of Visa to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Visa to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-four have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Visa currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $413.58.

About Visa

Visa Inc is a global payments technology company that facilitates electronic funds transfers and digital commerce by connecting consumers, merchants, financial institutions and governments. The firm operates one of the world's largest payment networks, providing processing, authorization, clearing and settlement services for credit, debit and prepaid card transactions. Visa's network-based model enables partner banks and other issuers to offer branded payment products while Visa focuses on the infrastructure, standards and technologies that move money securely and efficiently around the world.

Visa's product and service portfolio includes card-based payment products for consumers and businesses, real-time push-payment capabilities, tokenization and authentication services, fraud and risk-management tools, data analytics and APIs for fintech and merchant integration.

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