Visa Inc. $V Stake Boosted by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 3.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 73,879 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after buying an additional 2,281 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Visa were worth $26,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. XXEC Inc. boosted its position in Visa by 153,118.8% during the 2nd quarter. XXEC Inc. now owns 186,260,448 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $63,904,097,000 after acquiring an additional 186,138,883 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Visa by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 82,872,209 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $28,432,626,000 after acquiring an additional 566,194 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Visa by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 15,720,068 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $5,393,398,000 after acquiring an additional 1,808,496 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Visa by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,842,842 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $2,672,655,000 after acquiring an additional 316,559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Visa by 16.5% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 7,714,919 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $2,646,911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,092,315 shares during the period. 82.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 5,875 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.87, for a total transaction of $2,161,236.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,582,059.38. This trade represents a 27.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Julie Rottenberg sold 2,028 shares of Visa stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.35, for a total value of $773,377.80. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 18,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,018,365.40. The trade was a 9.93% decrease in their position. 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 29,262 shares of company stock valued at $11,195,791. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Visa Price Performance

Shares of V opened at $425.56 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $759.37 billion, a PE ratio of 34.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. Visa Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $293.89 and a fifty-two week high of $442.23. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $388.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $346.16.

Visa (NYSE:V) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The credit-card processor reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.04. Visa had a net margin of 51.20% and a return on equity of 70.50%. The firm had revenue of $12.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Visa Inc. will post 15.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Visa Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. This is an increase from Visa’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Visa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

V has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets set a $438.00 price target on Visa and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings cut Visa from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Evercore set a $405.00 price objective on Visa in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Visa from $410.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $460.00 target price (up from $435.00) on shares of Visa in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and thirty-five have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $443.35.

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.