Visa (NYSE:V) Trading 0.2% Higher – Here’s Why

Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) shares were up 0.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $355.68 and last traded at $354.56. Approximately 1,622,658 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 5,632,616 shares. The stock had previously closed at $353.81.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $393.00 target price (up previously from $374.00) on shares of Visa in a research note on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Visa in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Visa from $361.00 to $396.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Visa from $360.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Visa from $279.00 to $292.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Visa presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $354.73.

Visa Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $327.75 and a 200 day moving average of $301.05. The stock has a market cap of $651.05 billion, a PE ratio of 35.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.97.

Visa (NYSE:V) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit-card processor reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.66 by $0.09. Visa had a return on equity of 54.79% and a net margin of 54.27%. Equities analysts predict that Visa Inc. will post 11.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Visa Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 11th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. Visa’s payout ratio is currently 23.79%.

Insider Activity at Visa

In other news, insider Tullier Kelly Mahon sold 33,741 shares of Visa stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.77, for a total value of $11,801,589.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 36,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,789,689.82. This trade represents a 47.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Peter M. Andreski sold 2,332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.62, for a total transaction of $815,313.84. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,488 shares in the company, valued at $1,569,094.56. The trade was a 34.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 58,056 shares of company stock worth $19,830,050. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Visa

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Visa during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Visa in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Visa during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Visa during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its position in Visa by 48.5% in the fourth quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 98 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. 82.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Visa Company Profile

Visa Inc operates as a payment technology company in the United States and internationally. The company operates VisaNet, a transaction processing network that enables authorization, clearing, and settlement of payment transactions. It also offers credit, debit, and prepaid card products; tap to pay, tokenization, and click to pay services; Visa Direct, a solution that facilitates the delivery of funds to eligible cards, deposit accounts, and digital wallets; Visa B2B Connect, a multilateral business-to-business cross-border payments network; Visa Cross-Border Solution, a cross-border consumer payments solution; and Visa DPS that provides a range of value-added services, including fraud mitigation, dispute management, data analytics, campaign management, a suite of digital solutions, and contact center services.