Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) Stock Position Cut by Independence Bank of Kentucky

Independence Bank of Kentucky lessened its stake in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,447 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after selling 702 shares during the period. Visa makes up approximately 1.7% of Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Visa were worth $11,021,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Rock Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Visa in the fourth quarter worth approximately $306,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Visa by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 182,658 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $57,727,000 after purchasing an additional 30,185 shares in the last quarter. King Wealth Management Group raised its holdings in Visa by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. King Wealth Management Group now owns 74,874 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $23,663,000 after purchasing an additional 6,172 shares during the period. Eagle Strategies LLC lifted its position in Visa by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $811,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. bought a new stake in Visa during the fourth quarter valued at about $10,163,000. 82.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Paul D. Fabara sold 46,214 shares of Visa stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.00, for a total transaction of $17,099,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,772,810. The trade was a 63.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 2,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.58, for a total transaction of $889,868.50. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 11,925 shares in the company, valued at $4,121,041.50. The trade was a 17.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 168,162 shares of company stock valued at $58,645,479 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Visa Price Performance

Visa stock opened at $370.44 on Friday. Visa Inc. has a 52-week low of $252.70 and a 52-week high of $371.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $345.45 and its 200 day moving average is $335.50. The company has a market cap of $683.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.34, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.96.

Visa (NYSE:V) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The credit-card processor reported $2.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.08. Visa had a net margin of 54.27% and a return on equity of 54.79%. The firm had revenue of $9.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.51 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Visa Inc. will post 11.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Visa Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Visa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial started coverage on Visa in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Visa in a report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Visa in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of Visa from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $359.00 to $425.00 in a research note on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Visa has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $372.80.

About Visa

Visa Inc operates as a payment technology company in the United States and internationally. The company operates VisaNet, a transaction processing network that enables authorization, clearing, and settlement of payment transactions. It also offers credit, debit, and prepaid card products; tap to pay, tokenization, and click to pay services; Visa Direct, a solution that facilitates the delivery of funds to eligible cards, deposit accounts, and digital wallets; Visa B2B Connect, a multilateral business-to-business cross-border payments network; Visa Cross-Border Solution, a cross-border consumer payments solution; and Visa DPS that provides a range of value-added services, including fraud mitigation, dispute management, data analytics, campaign management, a suite of digital solutions, and contact center services.