Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Buy consensus: 29 analysts rate Visa an average "Buy" (19 Buy, 7 Strong Buy, 3 Hold) with a 12‑month average price target of $387.79 and several firms (BofA, Macquarie, Morgan Stanley) setting targets near $410.
• Quarterly results beat expectations: Visa reported EPS $3.17 vs. $3.14 and revenue $10.90B vs. $10.69B (revenue +14.6% YoY), with a 50.23% net margin and 61.74% ROE; analysts forecast FY EPS of 12.84.
• Insider and institutional ownership: Director Lloyd Carney sold 650 shares at about $309.62 (reducing his stake by 19.53%); insiders own 0.12% of the stock while hedge funds and institutions hold 82.15%.

Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Buy" from the twenty-nine analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and seven have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $387.7917.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on V. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Visa in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $410.00 price objective for the company. Macquarie Infrastructure reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $410.00 target price on shares of Visa in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $411.00 target price (up from $398.00) on shares of Visa in a report on Friday, January 30th. Freedom Capital raised Visa from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Visa from $372.00 to $361.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday.

Insider Transactions at Visa

In other Visa news, Director Lloyd Carney sold 650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.62, for a total transaction of $201,253.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at $829,471.98. This trade represents a 19.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Visa

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of V. Keybank National Association OH raised its holdings in Visa by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 219,816 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $66,437,000 after acquiring an additional 8,350 shares during the last quarter. Sage Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in shares of Visa by 37.3% during the 1st quarter. Sage Investment Counsel LLC now owns 7,047 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $2,130,000 after purchasing an additional 1,914 shares during the period. Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Visa by 2.0% during the first quarter. Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,866 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $7,213,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Investors Management Corp grew its position in shares of Visa by 0.7% in the first quarter. Heritage Investors Management Corp now owns 44,356 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $13,406,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Visa by 69.2% in the first quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,712 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $820,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.15% of the company's stock.

Visa Price Performance

Visa stock opened at $309.66 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $562.09 billion, a PE ratio of 29.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.80. Visa has a 52 week low of $293.89 and a 52 week high of $375.51. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $309.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $328.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Visa (NYSE:V - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit-card processor reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.14 by $0.03. Visa had a net margin of 50.23% and a return on equity of 61.74%. The firm had revenue of $10.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.75 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Visa will post 12.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Visa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th were paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Visa's payout ratio is presently 25.14%.

Visa Company Profile

Visa Inc is a global payments technology company that facilitates electronic funds transfers and digital commerce by connecting consumers, merchants, financial institutions and governments. The firm operates one of the world's largest payment networks, providing processing, authorization, clearing and settlement services for credit, debit and prepaid card transactions. Visa's network-based model enables partner banks and other issuers to offer branded payment products while Visa focuses on the infrastructure, standards and technologies that move money securely and efficiently around the world.

Visa's product and service portfolio includes card-based payment products for consumers and businesses, real-time push-payment capabilities, tokenization and authentication services, fraud and risk-management tools, data analytics and APIs for fintech and merchant integration.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.