1,752 Visa Inc. $V Shares Sold by Kelleher Financial Advisors

Kelleher Financial Advisors decreased its stake in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 39.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,697 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after selling 1,752 shares during the quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors’ holdings in Visa were worth $969,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Visa by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 6,585 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $2,366,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC lifted its stake in Visa by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC now owns 2,900 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $1,042,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Visa by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 302,982 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $110,855,000 after acquiring an additional 30,288 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Visa by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 261,646 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $94,017,000 after acquiring an additional 18,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Third View Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Visa by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Third View Private Wealth LLC now owns 62,150 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $22,332,000 after acquiring an additional 1,159 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.15% of the company’s stock.

Visa News Roundup

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 NYSE:V opened at $436.21 on Thursday. Visa Inc. has a 12-month low of $293.89 and a 12-month high of $436.76. The company has a market capitalization of $778.39 billion, a PE ratio of 35.38, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a 50 day moving average of $384.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $343.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Visa (NYSE:V) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The credit-card processor reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $12.14 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.98 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Visa Inc. will post 15.02 EPS for the current year.

Visa Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Visa’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Visa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Visa news, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 1,867 shares of Visa stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 Visa stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.22, for a total transaction of $2,445,292.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,315,722.28. The trade was a 27.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 27,395 shares of company stock worth $10,406,050 over the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their target price on shares of Visa from $430.00 to $444.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Visa from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $500.00 price target (up from $445.00) on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Visa from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price target on Visa from $387.00 to $404.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Visa currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.