Candriam S.C.A. Sells 73,119 Shares of Visa Inc. $V

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. sold 73,119 shares of Visa Inc., reducing its holdings by 12% during the first quarter, leaving the institutional investor with 534,029 shares valued at approximately $187 million.
• The recent earnings report indicated Visa's earnings per share (EPS) of $2.98, surpassing analysts' expectations of $2.85, with a revenue of $10.17 billion for the quarter.
• The company is set to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share on September 2nd, 2023, with an annualized yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 23.05%.

Candriam S.C.A. cut its position in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) by 12.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 534,029 shares of the credit-card processor's stock after selling 73,119 shares during the quarter. Visa accounts for 1.2% of Candriam S.C.A.'s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in Visa were worth $187,156,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. TFB Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Visa by 1.8% during the first quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 4,821 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $1,690,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Visa by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. now owns 1,741 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $610,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Visa by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 65,880 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $23,088,000 after acquiring an additional 1,463 shares in the last quarter. Aspire Growth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Visa by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Aspire Growth Partners LLC now owns 3,744 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $1,310,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frisch Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Visa by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,337 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $819,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 82.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Visa news, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 2,027 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.02, for a total transaction of $697,328.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 11,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,102,438.50. This represents a 14.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 8,630 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.82, for a total value of $3,053,466.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 537 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $190,001.34. This trade represents a 94.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 77,127 shares of company stock worth $28,340,553. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Visa Price Performance

V opened at $342.51 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Visa Inc. has a 12 month low of $265.31 and a 12 month high of $375.51. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $349.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $347.41. The stock has a market cap of $627.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.94.

Visa (NYSE:V - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The credit-card processor reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.85 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $10.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.82 billion. Visa had a net margin of 52.16% and a return on equity of 58.93%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Visa Inc. will post 11.3 EPS for the current year.

Visa Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. Visa's dividend payout ratio is 23.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Visa from $400.00 to $397.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Visa from $386.00 to $402.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Macquarie boosted their target price on Visa from $380.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $408.00 target price (up previously from $396.00) on shares of Visa in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Visa in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. They set a "buy" rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $380.84.

Visa Profile

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.

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