Two Sigma Investments LP Sells 118,849 Shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)

Two Sigma Investments LP decreased its holdings in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) by 14.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 707,395 shares of the credit-card processor's stock after selling 118,849 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP's holdings in Visa were worth $223,565,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Visa Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE V traded down $0.40 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $357.90. 4,931,414 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,007,572. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $340.60 and a 200 day moving average of $330.88. Visa Inc. has a 1 year low of $252.70 and a 1 year high of $369.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $660.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.96.

Visa (NYSE:V - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The credit-card processor reported $2.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $9.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.57 billion. Visa had a net margin of 54.27% and a return on equity of 54.79%. The firm's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.51 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Visa Inc. will post 11.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Visa Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. Visa's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

V has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays raised their price objective on Visa from $361.00 to $396.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Visa from $360.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating on shares of Visa in a report on Friday, March 21st. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Visa from $331.00 to $363.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Visa in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $362.38.

Insider Activity at Visa

In related news, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 2,575 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,121,041.50. The trade was a 17.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 8,620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $363.00, for a total value of $3,129,060.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 537 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $194,931. The trade was a 94.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 121,948 shares of company stock worth $41,548,282. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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.