Bleakley Financial Group LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) by 8.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,287 shares of the credit-card processor's stock after acquiring an additional 4,011 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC's holdings in Visa were worth $18,325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Visa during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Visa during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in Visa during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new stake in Visa during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in Visa during the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. 82.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Visa Trading Down 1.0%

Visa stock traded down $3.42 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $347.09. 4,887,324 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,809,955. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Visa Inc. has a 12 month low of $252.70 and a 12 month high of $375.51. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $356.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $343.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $640.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.88, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.92.

Visa (NYSE:V - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The credit-card processor reported $2.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.08. Visa had a net margin of 52.86% and a return on equity of 56.28%. The firm had revenue of $9.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.51 EPS. The company's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Visa Inc. will post 11.3 EPS for the current year.

Visa Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Visa's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on V. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Visa in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Mizuho upgraded shares of Visa from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $359.00 to $425.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Susquehanna reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Visa in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Visa in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Macquarie reduced their price target on shares of Visa from $400.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $372.84.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 2,575 shares of Visa stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.58, for a total value of $889,868.50. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 11,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,121,041.50. This trade represents a 17.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Paul D. Fabara sold 11,636 shares of Visa stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $375.00, for a total transaction of $4,363,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 26,413 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,904,875. The trade was a 30.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 101,108 shares of company stock worth $36,771,200 in the last quarter. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Visa

Visa Inc operates as a payment technology company in the United States and internationally. The company operates VisaNet, a transaction processing network that enables authorization, clearing, and settlement of payment transactions. It also offers credit, debit, and prepaid card products; tap to pay, tokenization, and click to pay services; Visa Direct, a solution that facilitates the delivery of funds to eligible cards, deposit accounts, and digital wallets; Visa B2B Connect, a multilateral business-to-business cross-border payments network; Visa Cross-Border Solution, a cross-border consumer payments solution; and Visa DPS that provides a range of value-added services, including fraud mitigation, dispute management, data analytics, campaign management, a suite of digital solutions, and contact center services.