Visa Inc. $V Stock Acquired by Ascent Group LLC

Key Points

• Ascent Group increased its Visa stake by 6.4% in the third quarter, adding 3,111 shares to bring its holdings to 51,473 shares, valued at about $18.5 million.
• Visa’s quarterly results exceeded analyst expectations: earnings were $3.48 per share and revenue was $12.14 billion, up 13.2% year over year.
• Visa raised its quarterly dividend from $0.67 to $0.78 per share, an increase of more than 16%; the annualized yield is approximately 0.7%.

Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,473 shares of the credit-card processor's stock after buying an additional 3,111 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Visa were worth $18,496,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Visa by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. now owns 17,700 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $6,360,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Visa by 1.5% during the third quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,886 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $8,942,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Visa by 8.8% during the third quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 6,585 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $2,366,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC lifted its holdings in Visa by 5.6% in the third quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC now owns 2,900 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $1,042,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Visa by 11.1% in the third quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 302,982 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $110,855,000 after buying an additional 30,288 shares during the period. 82.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Visa Stock Up 3.8%

Shares of NYSE:V opened at $436.21 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $384.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $343.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $778.39 billion, a PE ratio of 35.38, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.80. Visa Inc. has a 52 week low of $293.89 and a 52 week high of $436.76.

Visa (NYSE:V - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The credit-card processor reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.04. Visa had a net margin of 51.20% and a return on equity of 70.50%. The company had revenue of $12.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.98 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Visa Inc. will post 15.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Visa Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is a boost from Visa's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. Visa's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.30%.

Insider Transactions at Visa

In other Visa news, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 5,875 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.87, for a total value of $2,161,236.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,174 shares in the company, valued at $5,582,059.38. This represents a 27.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Julie Rottenberg sold 2,028 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.35, for a total value of $773,377.80. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 18,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,018,365.40. This represents a 9.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 27,395 shares of company stock valued at $10,406,050. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Visa

Here are the key news stories impacting Visa this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Verifone has deployed Visa’s Featurespace fraud-screening technology across its payment gateways. The system assesses transactions in real time across in-store, online and mobile channels, giving Visa another opportunity to expand its fraud-prevention services; the announcements did not disclose the financial size of the deal. Article: Verifone Turns to Visa’s Featurespace to Combat Fraud
• Positive Sentiment: Visa raised its quarterly dividend from $0.67 to $0.78 per share, an increase of more than 16%. The hike signals confidence in cash generation and adds to shareholder returns, although the yield is still relatively low. Article: Visa Just Hiked Its Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Visa’s latest reported quarter beat analyst expectations for earnings and revenue, with revenue up 13.2% year over year. That performance offers support for the growth outlook behind the dividend increase. Article: Will Earnings Beat Change Visa Stock’s Narrative
• Neutral Sentiment: Former Visa chairman and CEO Joseph Saunders, who led the company through its IPO, has died. The report is a tribute to his legacy and does not indicate an effect on Visa’s current operations. Article: Former Visa CEO Joseph Saunders Dies
• Negative Sentiment: A recent article cautioned investors about buying after Visa’s strong share-price run, noting the relatively low dividend yield. Separately, CEO Ryan McInerney sold 5,875 shares; the transaction was made under a pre-arranged trading plan, which tempers its significance as an outlook signal. Article: Visa Just Hiked Its Dividend Visa insider-trading report

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

V has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Visa from $387.00 to $404.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Visa from $403.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Visa from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price objective on Visa from $375.00 to $422.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Visa from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and thirty-five have issued a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $440.03.

Visa Company Profile

Visa Inc NYSE: V is a global payments technology company that facilitates electronic payments between consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments. Through its VisaNet network, the company authorizes, clears and settles transactions made with Visa-branded credit, debit and prepaid cards, while generally not issuing cards, extending credit or setting cardholder account terms.

Visa provides payment products and services for consumer, commercial and government payments, as well as digital commerce and money movement.

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