Visa Inc. $V Stock Holdings Reduced by Welch & Forbes LLC

Key Points

• Welch & Forbes trimmed its Visa stake by 0.9% in the third quarter, selling 6,633 shares; it retained 698,473 shares valued at about $251 million.
• Visa reported quarterly EPS of $3.48, beating estimates of $3.44, while revenue rose 13.2% year over year to $12.14 billion. The company also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.67 to $0.78 per share.
• Analyst sentiment remained positive: Visa had a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $440.82. Company insiders sold 27,395 shares worth about $10.4 million over the last quarter.

Welch & Forbes LLC lessened its stake in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 698,473 shares of the credit-card processor's stock after selling 6,633 shares during the period. Visa makes up about 2.9% of Welch & Forbes LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Welch & Forbes LLC's holdings in Visa were worth $250,982,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. John Boyer Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Visa in the third quarter worth $27,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Visa during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Visa during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Portfolio Resources Advisor Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Visa during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, DecisionPoint Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Visa by 307.7% in the 3rd quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.15% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Visa

In other Visa news, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 5,875 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 15,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,582,059.38. This represents a 27.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 2,028 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.35, for a total transaction of $773,377.80. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 18,404 shares in the company, valued at $7,018,365.40. The trade was a 9.93% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 27,395 shares of company stock valued at $10,406,050. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on V. Argus raised their target price on Visa from $396.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Bank of America boosted their price target on Visa from $410.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays raised their price objective on Visa from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $420.00 price objective (up from $410.00) on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Clear Str raised Visa to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and thirty-five have given a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $440.82.

Visa Price Performance

NYSE:V opened at $422.46 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $386.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $345.18. The firm has a market cap of $753.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.26, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.97. Visa Inc. has a one year low of $293.89 and a one year high of $442.23.

Visa (NYSE:V - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The credit-card processor reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $12.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.09 billion. Visa had a return on equity of 70.50% and a net margin of 51.20%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.98 EPS. Research analysts expect that Visa Inc. will post 15.02 EPS for the current year.

Visa Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is an increase 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 (DPR) is 21.74%.

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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