Visa Inc. $V Holdings Lessened by Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.

Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. lessened its stake in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 31.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,880 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after selling 6,820 shares during the quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Visa were worth $5,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in shares of Visa by 0.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 5,568 shares during the last quarter. CFC Planning Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of Visa by 13.7% in the third quarter. CFC Planning Co LLC now owns 13,305 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $4,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,607 shares during the last quarter. Vega Investment Solutions bought a new stake in shares of Visa in the second quarter worth about $829,000. Brooklands Fund Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Visa in the third quarter worth about $5,291,000. Finally, XXEC Inc. lifted its position in shares of Visa by 153,118.8% in the second quarter. XXEC Inc. now owns 186,260,448 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $63,904,097,000 after buying an additional 186,138,883 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Julie Rottenberg sold 1,867 shares of the business’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,778,929.36. The trade was a 9.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $416.22, for a total value of $2,445,292.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,315,722.28. This trade 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 in the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Visa Stock Performance

Shares of Visa stock opened at $422.46 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $386.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $345.18. Visa Inc. has a 52 week low of $293.89 and a 52 week high of $442.23. The company has a market capitalization of $753.84 billion, a PE ratio of 34.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.80.

Visa (NYSE:V) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $12.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.09 billion. Visa had a net margin of 51.20% and a return on equity of 70.50%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.98 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Visa Inc. will post 15.02 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is a boost from Visa’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. Visa’s payout ratio is presently 21.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

V has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $445.00 price target on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $440.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Argus lifted their price objective on Visa from $396.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Visa from $387.00 to $404.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, President Capital increased their target price on Visa from $411.00 to $474.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $440.82.

Visa Profile

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.