GQG Partners LLC Reduces Stock Position in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)

GQG Partners LLC cut its stake in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) by 16.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,729,037 shares of the credit-card processor's stock after selling 758,248 shares during the period. Visa makes up approximately 2.1% of GQG Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. GQG Partners LLC owned about 0.20% of Visa worth $1,306,878,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Visa during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Visa during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Visa during the 1st quarter worth approximately $54,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Visa during the 1st quarter worth approximately $56,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Visa by 28.5% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 167 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 82.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Visa

In other Visa news, insider Paul D. Fabara sold 46,214 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.00, for a total value of $17,099,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 26,413 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,772,810. The trade was a 63.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 8,630 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.82, for a total transaction of $3,053,466.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 537 shares of the company's stock, valued at $190,001.34. This represents a 94.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 75,100 shares of company stock worth $27,643,224. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Visa Stock Up 0.3%

V stock opened at $336.80 on Wednesday. Visa Inc. has a 52-week low of $258.74 and a 52-week high of $375.51. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $351.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $347.23. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $617.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Visa Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on V. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Visa from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Visa from $386.00 to $402.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Visa in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $410.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Visa from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of Visa from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $359.00 to $425.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $380.84.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding V? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.