CDM Financial Counseling Services Inc. Takes Position in Visa Inc. $V

Key Points

• CDM Financial Counseling Services opened a new position in Visa in the fourth quarter, buying 5,209 shares worth about $1.83 million. Visa now makes up roughly 1.7% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Visa’s fundamentals remain strong: the company beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $3.31 EPS on $11.23 billion in revenue, and it also launched a $20 billion share buyback program.
• Analysts are broadly positive on Visa, with a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $387.67. Meanwhile, some insiders recently sold shares, including CFO Chris Suh and Director Lloyd Carney.

CDM Financial Counseling Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 5,209 shares of the credit-card processor's stock, valued at approximately $1,827,000. Visa makes up about 1.7% of CDM Financial Counseling Services Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Patron Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Visa by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 4,648 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $1,587,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Visa by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC now owns 3,344 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $1,142,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. High Note Wealth LLC grew its stake in Visa by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 474 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $162,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Visa by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,541 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $526,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chapman Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Visa by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Chapman Financial Group LLC now owns 3,211 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $1,096,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.15% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

V has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $395.00 price objective on shares of Visa in a research note on Friday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Visa in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $365.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Visa in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $385.00 price objective on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Macquarie Infrastructure reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $410.00 price objective on shares of Visa in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Visa presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $387.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Visa news, Director Lloyd Carney sold 650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.62, for a total transaction of $201,253.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at $829,471.98. This trade represents a 19.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Chris Suh sold 10,639 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.81, for a total transaction of $3,455,653.59. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 9,872 shares in the company, valued at $3,206,524.32. This represents a 51.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 42,744 shares of company stock valued at $14,356,010 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Visa Price Performance

Visa stock opened at $325.42 on Monday. Visa Inc. has a 12-month low of $293.89 and a 12-month high of $375.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $583.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.78. The firm's 50-day moving average is $311.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $325.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Visa (NYSE:V - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The credit-card processor reported $3.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.21. Visa had a net margin of 51.68% and a return on equity of 65.00%. The company had revenue of $11.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.75 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.76 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Visa Inc. will post 13.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Visa announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, April 28th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit-card processor to purchase up to 3.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Visa Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. Visa's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.34%.

Key Stories Impacting Visa

Here are the key news stories impacting Visa this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Trump said he urged China to open its credit card market more to Visa, raising hopes for future international growth if market access improves. Reuters related coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Visa is expanding digital identity and card activation tools, while also launching AI-powered fan intelligence capabilities, reinforcing its innovation and product-growth story. Visa Links Tap Identity And AI Fan Data To Its Growth Story
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted strong spending trends and digital payments adoption, which generally support transaction volume for Visa’s network. Credit Card Charges Show This Glaring Divergence With The Economy
• Neutral Sentiment: Visa CFO Chris Suh sold shares in a disclosed insider transaction, which may slightly pressure sentiment but does not change the company’s operating outlook. SEC Form 4 filing
• Negative Sentiment: Separate news about delays in U.S. green-card processing and Hungary’s visa-worker policy are mostly unrelated to Visa Inc.’s business and should have limited direct impact on the stock. US Delays Green Card Processing For Indians In Key Visa Categories

Visa Company Profile

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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