Visa Inc. $V Shares Purchased by Ascent Group LLC

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in Visa Inc. by 44.7% during the first quarter, owning a total of 60,580 shares valued at $21.23 million.
• Visa recently reported earnings of $2.98 per share for the quarter, surpassing estimates and showing a 14.3% revenue increase year-over-year.
• Several analysts have initiated coverage on Visa, with Deutsche Bank setting a buy rating and a price target of $410.00.

Ascent Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) by 44.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,580 shares of the credit-card processor's stock after acquiring an additional 18,701 shares during the period. Visa comprises approximately 0.9% of Ascent Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Visa were worth $21,231,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Visa during the first quarter valued at $26,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Visa during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in Visa during the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in Visa during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, O Brien Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Visa in the 1st quarter valued at about $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.15% of the company's stock.

Visa Stock Performance

Visa stock traded down $5.49 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $338.50. 6,518,041 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,926,804. Visa Inc. has a 1 year low of $268.23 and a 1 year high of $375.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $620.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $348.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $347.13.

Visa (NYSE:V - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The credit-card processor reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.85 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $10.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.82 billion. Visa had a net margin of 52.16% and a return on equity of 58.93%. The firm's revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Visa Inc. will post 11.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Visa Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Visa in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Visa from $390.00 to $391.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $415.00 price target (up from $405.00) on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $408.00 price objective (up previously from $396.00) on shares of Visa in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Visa in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $410.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Visa currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $385.96.

Insider Activity at Visa

In related news, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 2,027 shares of Visa stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.02, for a total value of $697,328.54. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 11,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,102,438.50. This trade represents a 14.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 8,630 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 537 shares of the company's stock, valued at $190,001.34. This represents a 94.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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.