HS Management Partners LLC Sells 66,055 Shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)

HS Management Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 47.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 74,265 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after selling 66,055 shares during the period. Visa makes up 2.1% of HS Management Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. HS Management Partners LLC’s holdings in Visa were worth $26,027,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Carnegie Lake Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Visa in the 1st quarter worth approximately $200,000. AMG National Trust Bank increased its stake in Visa by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 15,937 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $5,585,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Visa by 1.0% in the first quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC now owns 14,269 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $5,001,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Visa by 4.2% during the first quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, ODonnell Financial Services LLC grew its position in Visa by 7.4% during the first quarter. ODonnell Financial Services LLC now owns 802 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. 82.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on V. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Visa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Visa from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $330.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Visa from $395.00 to $405.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.52.

Visa Stock Performance

Visa stock opened at $348.90 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $356.82 and its 200-day moving average is $343.63. The company has a market cap of $643.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Visa Inc. has a 12 month low of $252.70 and a 12 month high of $375.51.

Visa (NYSE:V) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The credit-card processor reported $2.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $9.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.57 billion. Visa had a return on equity of 56.28% and a net margin of 52.86%. The company’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.51 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Visa Inc. will post 11.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Visa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Visa’s payout ratio is 23.72%.

Insider Transactions at Visa

In related news, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 8,630 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.82, for a total transaction of $3,053,466.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 537 shares in the company, valued at $190,001.34. The trade was a 94.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 2,575 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.58, for a total value of $889,868.50. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 11,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,121,041.50. This trade represents a 17.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 101,108 shares of company stock worth $36,771,200. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.