Visa Inc. $V Shares Sold by Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Visa Inc. by 17.0%, selling 878 shares, leaving them with 4,294 shares valued at $1,525,000.
• Visa reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.98 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations of $2.85, with revenue hitting $10.17 billion, a 14.3% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59, resulting in an annualized dividend of $2.36, which reflects a yield of 0.7%.

Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) by 17.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,294 shares of the credit-card processor's stock after selling 878 shares during the quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC's holdings in Visa were worth $1,525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Visa in the first quarter worth about $26,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Visa in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in Visa during the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC bought a new position in Visa during the 1st quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, O Brien Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Visa during the 1st quarter worth approximately $54,000. 82.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Visa Stock Down 1.2%

V opened at $339.33 on Monday. Visa Inc. has a 12 month low of $268.23 and a 12 month high of $375.51. 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 stock has a market cap of $621.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.92. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $347.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $346.86.

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

Visa Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on V shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Visa from $386.00 to $402.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup started coverage on Visa in a report on Monday, June 2nd. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Visa in a report on Monday, June 2nd. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Visa in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $410.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho raised Visa from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $359.00 to $425.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $385.96.

Insider Activity at Visa

In related news, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 2,027 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.02, for a total value of $697,328.54. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 11,925 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 8,630 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.82, for a total value of $3,053,466.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $190,001.34. This represents a 94.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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