First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Raises Holdings in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 64,958 shares of the credit-card processor's stock after buying an additional 1,384 shares during the period. Visa accounts for approximately 0.4% of First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Visa were worth $22,765,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on V shares. Citigroup started coverage on Visa in a report on Monday, June 2nd. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Visa from $395.00 to $405.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Visa from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $330.00 target price on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Visa in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Visa currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $372.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Paul D. Fabara sold 39,350 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.20, for a total transaction of $12,875,320.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 26,413 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,642,333.60. This trade represents a 59.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 8,620 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.44, for a total transaction of $3,020,792.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 537 shares of the company's stock, valued at $188,186.28. This represents a 94.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 179,798 shares of company stock worth $63,008,979. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Visa Trading Down 0.6%

V stock traded down $2.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $371.11. The company had a trading volume of 4,868,166 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,998,384. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $684.76 billion, a PE ratio of 37.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $347.68 and a 200 day moving average of $336.77. Visa Inc. has a 12 month low of $252.70 and a 12 month high of $375.51.

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

Visa Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Visa's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.72%.

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.