IFM Investors Pty Ltd Buys 12,042 Shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) by 3.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 324,902 shares of the credit-card processor's stock after purchasing an additional 12,042 shares during the period. Visa accounts for 1.1% of IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Visa were worth $113,865,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Visa by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,405,343 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $50,378,465,000 after purchasing an additional 7,079,706 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Visa by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,345,176 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $12,729,901,000 after buying an additional 1,689,926 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Visa by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,816,573 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $7,526,660,000 after acquiring an additional 866,596 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Visa by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 23,277,622 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $7,356,614,000 after acquiring an additional 241,057 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Visa by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 18,260,714 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $5,771,116,000 after acquiring an additional 2,785,707 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.15% of the company's stock.

Visa Stock Up 0.7%

Visa stock traded up $2.33 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $356.88. The stock had a trading volume of 2,626,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,821,417. 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's 50-day moving average price is $356.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $342.00. Visa Inc. has a 12-month low of $252.70 and a 12-month high of $375.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $658.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.92.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.08. Visa had a net margin of 52.86% and a return on equity of 56.28%. The business had revenue of $9.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.51 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Visa Inc. will post 11.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Visa Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 2,575 shares of the 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 transaction, the general counsel owned 11,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,121,041.50. This represents a 17.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Paul D. Fabara sold 46,214 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.00, for a total value of $17,099,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 101,108 shares of company stock valued at $36,771,200. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

V has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Visa from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Visa from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Visa in a report on Monday, June 2nd. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on Visa from $395.00 to $405.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Visa in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Visa currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.