Sterling Investment Management LLC Purchases 1,201 Shares of Visa Inc. $V

Key Points

• Sterling Investment Management LLC has increased its holdings in Visa Inc. by 11.0%, acquiring an additional 1,201 shares, bringing its total to 12,128 shares worth approximately $4.3 million.
• Visa's recent quarterly earnings reported an EPS of $2.98, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.85, with year-over-year revenue growth of 14.3%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, providing a 0.7% yield on its stock, which has a dividend payout ratio of 23.05%.

Sterling Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,128 shares of the credit-card processor's stock after acquiring an additional 1,201 shares during the quarter. Visa comprises approximately 2.9% of Sterling Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Sterling Investment Management LLC's holdings in Visa were worth $4,306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Visa by 2.9% in the first quarter. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. now owns 1,027 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Visa by 0.8% during the first quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,449 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $1,209,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Visa by 0.9% during the second quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,338 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $1,185,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Visa by 2.9% during the second quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC now owns 1,013 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Visa by 11.1% during the first quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC now owns 301 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.15% of the company's stock.

Visa Price Performance

NYSE:V opened at $347.34 on Friday. Visa Inc. has a one year low of $280.78 and a one year high of $375.51. The company has a market cap of $636.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.90. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $344.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $347.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.85 by $0.13. Visa had a net margin of 52.16% and a return on equity of 58.93%. The firm had revenue of $10.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Visa Inc. will post 11.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Visa Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th were paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Visa's dividend payout ratio is 23.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 2,027 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.02, for a total value of $697,328.54. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 11,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,102,438.50. This represents a 14.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 10,485 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.30, for a total transaction of $3,589,015.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 537 shares in the company, valued at $183,815.10. This trade represents a 95.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on V shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Visa in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $410.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Visa in a report on Friday. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and set a $405.00 target price on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird set a $410.00 target price on shares of Visa and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Visa from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Visa currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $392.75.

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.

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