Generation Investment Management LLP Cuts Stake in Visa Inc. $V

Key Points

• Generation Investment Management LLP reduced its stake in Visa Inc. by 9.3%, holding approximately $249.92 million worth of shares, which represent 1.5% of its total portfolio.
• Visa's latest quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $2.98 EPS versus the estimated $2.85, with year-over-year revenue growth of 14.3% to $10.17 billion.
• Visa declared a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.7%, reflecting a payout ratio of 23.05%.

Generation Investment Management LLP reduced its position in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) by 9.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 713,123 shares of the credit-card processor's stock after selling 72,737 shares during the period. Visa accounts for about 1.5% of Generation Investment Management LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Generation Investment Management LLP's holdings in Visa were worth $249,921,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Promethium Advisors LLC grew its stake in Visa by 6.0% in the first quarter. Promethium Advisors LLC now owns 2,606 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $913,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. grew its position in Visa by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. now owns 4,156 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $1,457,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lifted its stake in shares of Visa by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 585,651 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $205,265,000 after purchasing an additional 5,587 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Visa by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 246,003 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $86,214,000 after purchasing an additional 15,312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Manhattan CO. LLC. increased its stake in shares of Visa by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 1,299,273 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $455,343,000 after purchasing an additional 45,615 shares in the last quarter. 82.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Visa Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE V traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $350.35. 4,035,793 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,490,003. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The company's 50 day moving average is $348.56 and its 200 day moving average is $347.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $642.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.92. Visa Inc. has a one year low of $268.23 and a one year high of $375.51.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.85 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $10.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.82 billion. Visa had a net margin of 52.16% and a return on equity of 58.93%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Visa's payout ratio is currently 23.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 2,027 shares of Visa stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.02, for a total transaction of $697,328.54. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 11,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,102,438.50. This trade represents a 14.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Paul D. Fabara sold 46,214 shares of Visa stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.00, for a total transaction of $17,099,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 26,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,772,810. The trade was a 63.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 68,507 shares of company stock valued at $25,213,475 in the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $408.00 target price (up from $396.00) on shares of Visa in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised Visa from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup started coverage on Visa in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Mizuho raised Visa from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $359.00 to $425.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $383.17.

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.