Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Raises Stock Position in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,719,509 shares of the credit-card processor's stock after acquiring an additional 37,852 shares during the quarter. Visa comprises approximately 1.1% of Pictet Asset Management Holding SA's portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.15% of Visa worth $952,847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Visa by 50.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 20,635 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $6,522,000 after purchasing an additional 6,883 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Visa by 68.9% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 11,811 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $3,733,000 after acquiring an additional 4,817 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn FI LLC purchased a new position in Visa in the fourth quarter worth $454,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Visa in the fourth quarter worth $63,000. Finally, First National Bank of Hutchinson grew its position in Visa by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 4,026 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $1,272,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.15% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 2,575 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.58, for a total transaction of $889,868.50. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 11,925 shares in the company, valued at $4,121,041.50. This represents a 17.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Paul D. Fabara sold 46,214 shares of the 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 sale, the insider 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 sold a total of 101,108 shares of company stock valued at $36,771,200 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Visa Trading Down 0.3%

V stock traded down $0.91 during trading on Friday, reaching $348.90. The company had a trading volume of 4,916,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,795,706. Visa Inc. has a 52 week low of $252.70 and a 52 week high of $375.51. The company has a market cap of $643.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.07, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50 day moving average of $356.82 and a 200 day moving average of $343.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Visa (NYSE:V - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The credit-card processor reported $2.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.08. Visa had a net margin of 52.86% and a return on equity of 56.28%. The company had revenue of $9.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.51 earnings per share. Visa's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Visa Inc. will post 11.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Visa Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th were paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. Visa's payout ratio is currently 23.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Visa from $395.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $330.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Visa from $390.00 to $391.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Visa from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Macquarie cut their price target on shares of Visa from $400.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $375.52.

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.