Visa Inc. $V Stock Sold by Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC cut its stake in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 5.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 94,529 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after selling 5,409 shares during the period. Visa makes up about 3.5% of Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC’s holdings in Visa were worth $33,967,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in V. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its stake in Visa by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 606,500 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $217,934,000 after buying an additional 5,568 shares in the last quarter. CFC Planning Co LLC increased its stake in Visa by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. CFC Planning Co LLC now owns 13,305 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $4,781,000 after buying an additional 1,607 shares in the last quarter. Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new stake in Visa during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $829,000. Brooklands Fund Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Visa during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,291,000. Finally, XXEC Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Visa by 153,118.8% during the second 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 during the last quarter. 82.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Visa Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE V opened at $422.46 on Tuesday. Visa Inc. has a 12-month low of $293.89 and a 12-month high of $442.23. The stock has a market cap of $753.84 billion, a PE ratio of 34.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.80. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $386.67 and a 200 day moving average of $345.18.

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

Visa Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be given a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Visa’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. Visa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on V shares. Truist Financial raised their target price on Visa from $443.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Erste Group Bank raised Visa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $430.00 price target on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $420.00 price objective (up from $410.00) on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Clear Str upgraded Visa to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and thirty-five have issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Visa currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $440.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Julie Rottenberg sold 1,867 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.34, for a total value of $687,690.78. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 18,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,778,929.36. This trade represents a 9.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.22, for a total value of $2,445,292.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,315,722.28. This represents a 27.91% 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. Insiders sold 27,395 shares of company stock valued at $10,406,050 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.

Visa traces its roots to BankAmericard, a bank card program launched in California in 1958.