Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS Takes Position in Visa Inc. $V

Key Points

• Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS initiated a new position in Visa during the first quarter, buying 102,964 shares valued at about $31.1 million. The stake makes Visa its 8th-largest holding and about 4.8% of its portfolio.
• Visa reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.31 beating estimates and revenue of $11.23 billion topping forecasts. Revenue rose 17.1% year over year, and analysts still expect solid full-year earnings.
• The company also boosted shareholder returns by declaring a $20 billion share repurchase program and paying a quarterly dividend of $0.67 per share. Meanwhile, analysts remain broadly positive, with the stock carrying an average Buy rating and a price target of about $398.36.

Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS purchased a new position in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 102,964 shares of the credit-card processor's stock, valued at approximately $31,120,000. Visa makes up about 4.8% of Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS's holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of V. FOCUS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Visa by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. FOCUS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,710 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $2,704,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. raised its position in shares of Visa by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. now owns 1,598 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $560,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Frederick Financial Consultants LLC boosted its stake in Visa by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Frederick Financial Consultants LLC now owns 1,598 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $560,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in Visa by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $382,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel grew its holdings in shares of Visa by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 6,096 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $2,138,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 82.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

V has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays began coverage on Visa in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $420.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Visa from $390.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Clear Str raised Visa to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Visa in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. They set a "buy" rating and a $387.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Visa from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $398.36.

Visa Trading Down 1.3%

Visa stock opened at $355.94 on Wednesday. Visa Inc. has a 12 month low of $293.89 and a 12 month high of $365.14. The company has a market capitalization of $638.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.75. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $335.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $325.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Visa (NYSE:V - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The credit-card processor reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $11.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.75 billion. Visa had a return on equity of 65.00% and a net margin of 51.68%.The company's revenue was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.76 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Visa Inc. will post 13.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Visa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 12th. Visa's dividend payout ratio is 23.34%.

Visa declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 28th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit-card processor to purchase up to 3.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Visa

In other news, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 2,027 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total value of $729,720.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 18,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,625,440. This represents a 9.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 10,490 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.99, for a total transaction of $3,608,455.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 15,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,219,704.26. The trade was a 40.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 75,581 shares of company stock worth $25,627,975. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Visa 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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