Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) Shares Sold by Gradient Investments LLC

Gradient Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V – Get Rating) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,447 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after selling 3,104 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Visa were worth $11,104,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in V. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Visa by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 145,236,910 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $25,801,337,000 after purchasing an additional 912,545 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Visa by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 51,261,821 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $10,092,940,000 after purchasing an additional 200,057 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in Visa by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 27,141,800 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $4,821,741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,785,695 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Visa by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 13,270,127 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $2,357,438,000 after purchasing an additional 77,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Visa by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 13,200,244 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $2,598,996,000 after purchasing an additional 135,832 shares in the last quarter. 81.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Visa Stock Performance

Visa stock opened at $217.39 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $408.91 billion, a PE ratio of 30.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $223.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $208.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44. Visa Inc. has a 12 month low of $174.60 and a 12 month high of $234.30.

Visa (NYSE:V – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 26th. The credit-card processor reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. Visa had a net margin of 50.28% and a return on equity of 49.95%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Visa Inc. will post 8.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Visa Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 10th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. This is a boost from Visa’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 9th. Visa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.17%.

Insider Activity at Visa

In related news, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 13,394 shares of Visa stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.00, for a total transaction of $2,933,286.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 4,583 shares in the company, valued at $1,003,677. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Rajat Taneja sold 61,721 shares of Visa stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.92, for a total transaction of $14,190,892.32. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 232,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,367,191.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 13,394 shares of Visa stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.00, for a total value of $2,933,286.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 4,583 shares in the company, valued at $1,003,677. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 191,312 shares of company stock worth $33,751,165 over the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on V. Credit Suisse Group increased their price objective on shares of Visa from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 27th. Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Visa from $240.00 to $255.00 in a report on Thursday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Visa from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Visa from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Visa from $210.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $259.11.

Visa Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Visa, Inc engages in the provision of digital payment services. It also facilitates global commerce through the transfer of value and information among a global network of consumers, merchants, financial institutions, businesses, strategic partners, and government entities. It offers debit cards, credit cards, prepaid products, commercial payment solutions, and global automated teller machines (ATMs).