Visa Inc. $V Shares Bought by Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its position in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 195,204 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after buying an additional 1,304 shares during the quarter. Visa makes up approximately 0.7% of Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Visa were worth $70,143,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in V. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its position in Visa by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 606,500 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $217,934,000 after acquiring an additional 5,568 shares during the period. CFC Planning Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of Visa by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. CFC Planning Co LLC now owns 13,305 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $4,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,607 shares during the period. Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new position in shares of Visa in the 2nd quarter valued at about $829,000. Brooklands Fund Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Visa in the third quarter worth approximately $5,291,000. Finally, Beacon Financial Group boosted its stake in shares of Visa by 83.9% during the 1st quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 22,501 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $6,801,000 after buying an additional 10,267 shares during the period. 82.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Visa

In other news, General Counsel Julie Rottenberg sold 1,867 shares of Visa stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.34, for a total value of $687,690.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 18,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,778,929.36. The trade was a 9.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 5,875 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $416.22, for a total value of $2,445,292.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,174 shares in the company, valued at $6,315,722.28. The trade was a 27.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 27,395 shares of company stock valued at $10,406,050. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Visa

Here are the key news stories impacting Visa this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Verifone has deployed Visa’s Featurespace fraud-screening technology across its payment gateways. The system assesses transactions in real time across in-store, online and mobile channels, giving Visa another opportunity to expand its fraud-prevention services; the announcements did not disclose the financial size of the deal. Article: Verifone Turns to Visa’s Featurespace to Combat Fraud
• Positive Sentiment: Visa raised its quarterly dividend from $0.67 to $0.78 per share, an increase of more than 16%. The hike signals confidence in cash generation and adds to shareholder returns, although the yield is still relatively low. Article: Visa Just Hiked Its Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Visa’s latest reported quarter beat analyst expectations for earnings and revenue, with revenue up 13.2% year over year. That performance offers support for the growth outlook behind the dividend increase. Article: Will Earnings Beat Change Visa Stock’s Narrative
• Neutral Sentiment: Former Visa chairman and CEO Joseph Saunders, who led the company through its IPO, has died. The report is a tribute to his legacy and does not indicate an effect on Visa’s current operations. Article: Former Visa CEO Joseph Saunders Dies
• Negative Sentiment: A recent article cautioned investors about buying after Visa’s strong share-price run, noting the relatively low dividend yield. Separately, CEO Ryan McInerney sold 5,875 shares; the transaction was made under a pre-arranged trading plan, which tempers its significance as an outlook signal. Article: Visa Just Hiked Its Dividend Visa insider-trading report

Visa Trading Up 3.8%

Shares of V opened at $436.21 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $778.39 billion, a PE ratio of 35.38, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.80. Visa Inc. has a 1 year low of $293.89 and a 1 year high of $436.76. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $384.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $343.74.

Visa (NYSE:V) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The credit-card processor reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $12.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. Visa had a return on equity of 70.50% and a net margin of 51.20%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.98 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Visa Inc. will post 15.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Visa Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. This is a positive change from Visa’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Visa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on V shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $430.00 price target on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. 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. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $471.00 target price (up from $416.00) on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $440.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Visa from $387.00 to $404.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and thirty-five have given a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $440.03.

Visa Company Profile

Visa Inc (NYSE: V) is a global payments technology company that facilitates electronic payments between consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments. Through its VisaNet network, the company authorizes, clears and settles transactions made with Visa-branded credit, debit and prepaid cards, while generally not issuing cards, extending credit or setting cardholder account terms.

Visa provides payment products and services for consumer, commercial and government payments, as well as digital commerce and money movement.