Calamos Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)

Calamos Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) by 10.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 85,335 shares of the credit-card processor's stock after purchasing an additional 7,892 shares during the period. Visa makes up about 1.5% of Calamos Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Calamos Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Visa were worth $29,907,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Visa during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in Visa during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new position in Visa during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in Visa in the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, O Brien Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Visa during the first quarter worth about $54,000. 82.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Visa Price Performance

Shares of NYSE V traded up $2.36 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $356.91. 2,511,262 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,820,583. Visa Inc. has a 52 week low of $252.70 and a 52 week high of $375.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $658.55 billion, a PE ratio of 35.87, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.92. The company's 50 day moving average price is $356.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $342.00.

Visa (NYSE:V - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The credit-card processor reported $2.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $9.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.51 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Visa Inc. will post 11.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Visa Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. Visa's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.72%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Paul D. Fabara sold 11,636 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $375.00, for a total value of $4,363,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 26,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,904,875. This trade represents a 30.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 8,630 shares of Visa stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.82, for a total transaction of $3,053,466.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 537 shares of the company's stock, valued at $190,001.34. This trade represents a 94.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 101,108 shares of company stock valued at $36,771,200. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on V. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Visa from $383.00 to $384.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup started coverage on Visa in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Visa from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Visa in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $330.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Macquarie lowered their target price on Visa from $400.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Five investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $372.84.

Visa Company 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.