Perennial Advisors LLC Invests $12.17 Million in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)

Perennial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 38,519 shares of the credit-card processor's stock, valued at approximately $12,174,000. Visa comprises 2.6% of Perennial Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Visa during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its position in Visa by 48.5% in the 4th quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 98 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in Visa during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Visa during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Visa by 377.3% during the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 105 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.15% of the company's stock.

Visa Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:V traded up $2.82 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $362.55. The stock had a trading volume of 4,585,487 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,002,298. The company has a market cap of $668.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.96. The business's 50 day moving average price is $342.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $332.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Visa Inc. has a 1 year low of $252.70 and a 1 year high of $369.15.

Visa (NYSE:V - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The credit-card processor reported $2.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.08. Visa had a net margin of 54.27% and a return on equity of 54.79%. The business had revenue of $9.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.51 earnings per share. Visa's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Visa Inc. will post 11.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Visa Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Visa's payout ratio is 23.72%.

Insider Transactions at Visa

In related news, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 2,575 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.58, for a total value of $889,868.50. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 11,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,121,041.50. This represents a 17.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paul D. Fabara sold 39,350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.20, for a total value of $12,875,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 26,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,642,333.60. The trade was a 59.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 121,948 shares of company stock worth $41,548,282. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on V. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Visa in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Visa from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Visa from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Visa in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Visa in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $366.13.

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.