Visa (NYSE:V) General Counsel Sells $789,741.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Visa General Counsel Julie Rottenberg sold 1,867 shares for $789,741 at an average price of $423, under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. She retained 18,404 shares after the sale.
• Visa beat quarterly estimates, reporting $3.48 in EPS and $12.14 billion in revenue; revenue rose 13.2% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.78 per share from $0.67.
• Analysts broadly maintained positive views, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $442.29; recent targets included $490 from Citigroup and $500 from Cantor Fitzgerald.

Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Get Free Report) General Counsel Julie Rottenberg sold 1,867 shares of Visa stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.00, for a total value of $789,741.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 18,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,784,892. This represents a 9.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Visa Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE:V traded up $0.79 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $422.95. The stock had a trading volume of 5,581,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,532,372. The business's 50 day moving average is $386.67 and its 200 day moving average is $345.18. Visa Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $293.89 and a fifty-two week high of $442.23. The stock has a market cap of $754.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.30, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $12.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. Visa had a net margin of 51.20% and a return on equity of 70.50%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.98 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Visa Inc. will post 15.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Visa Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Visa's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Visa's payout ratio is 21.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Visa from $440.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $500.00 target price (up from $445.00) on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $420.00 price target (up from $410.00) on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Bank of America upped their price target on Visa from $410.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Visa from $450.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and thirty-five have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $442.29.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. John Boyer Inc. purchased a new position in Visa during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Visa in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Visa in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Robinswood Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Visa in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Portfolio Resources Advisor Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Visa in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.15% of the company's stock.

About Visa

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.

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