Visa Inc. $V Stock: AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Grows Position

Key Points

• AEGON Asset Management UK increased its Visa position 15.1% in the third quarter, adding 52,593 shares to hold 399,895 shares valued at about $143.7 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 82.15% of Visa.
• Visa beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting EPS of $3.48 and revenue of $12.14 billion; revenue grew 13.2% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.67 to $0.78 per share.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook: Visa has a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $440.82. Shares opened at $422.46 in the article’s reported session.

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted its holdings in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) by 15.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 399,895 shares of the credit-card processor's stock after purchasing an additional 52,593 shares during the quarter. Visa comprises approximately 1.5% of AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc's holdings in Visa were worth $143,694,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of V. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in shares of Visa by 0.9% during the third quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 606,500 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $217,934,000 after buying an additional 5,568 shares during the last quarter. CFC Planning Co LLC increased its position in Visa by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. CFC Planning Co LLC now owns 13,305 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $4,781,000 after acquiring an additional 1,607 shares during the period. Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new stake in Visa during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $829,000. Brooklands Fund Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Visa during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,291,000. Finally, XXEC Inc. lifted its position in Visa by 153,118.8% during the 2nd quarter. XXEC Inc. now owns 186,260,448 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $63,904,097,000 after acquiring an additional 186,138,883 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.15% of the company's stock.

Visa Price Performance

V stock opened at $422.46 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $386.67 and a 200-day moving average of $345.18. The company has a market cap of $753.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.87, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Visa Inc. has a 12-month low of $293.89 and a 12-month high of $442.23.

Visa (NYSE:V - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 70.50% and a net margin of 51.20%. The business had revenue of $12.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.98 EPS. The company's revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Visa Inc. will post 15.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Visa Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. This is a positive change from Visa's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Visa's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Visa

In other Visa news, General Counsel Julie Rottenberg sold 1,867 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.34, for a total value of $687,690.78. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 18,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,778,929.36. This represents a 9.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 5,875 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.22, for a total value of $2,445,292.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,315,722.28. This represents a 27.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 27,395 shares of company stock worth $10,406,050 in the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

V has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $466.00 price target on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Visa from $432.00 to $463.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Visa from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $420.00 target price (up from $410.00) on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $438.00 price target on shares of Visa and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and thirty-five have given a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Visa currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $440.82.

Visa Profile

Visa Inc operates a global payments network that connects consumers, merchants, financial institutions and governments. Its network supports the authorization, clearing and settlement of electronic payments, including transactions made in person and online.

The company's services include payment processing, fraud prevention, identity and risk management, and money-transfer solutions such as Visa Direct. Visa-branded credit, debit and prepaid cards are issued by participating financial institutions; Visa generally provides the network and related services rather than issuing cards or extending credit directly to consumers.

Visa traces its roots to BankAmericard, a bank card program launched in California in 1958.

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