Wallington Asset Management LLC Sells 3,379 Shares of Visa Inc. $V

Wallington Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 5.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,223 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after selling 3,379 shares during the period. Visa makes up approximately 2.6% of Wallington Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Wallington Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Visa were worth $19,411,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Visa during the 4th quarter worth about $5,877,738,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Visa by 867.6% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 8,213,610 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $2,880,595,000 after acquiring an additional 7,364,762 shares during the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Visa by 29,706.3% in the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,332,947 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $2,216,310,000 after acquiring an additional 7,308,345 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP boosted its stake in Visa by 12,497.1% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 3,378,039 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $1,184,712,000 after acquiring an additional 3,351,223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Visa by 48.2% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,508,089 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $2,282,472,000 after acquiring an additional 2,116,463 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.15% of the company’s stock.

Visa Price Performance

Shares of V opened at $341.86 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $323.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $324.40. Visa Inc. has a 52-week low of $293.89 and a 52-week high of $359.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $613.22 billion, a PE ratio of 29.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.77.

Visa (NYSE:V) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The credit-card processor reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.21. Visa had a net margin of 51.68% and a return on equity of 65.00%. The firm had revenue of $11.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.75 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.76 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Visa Inc. will post 13.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Visa Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 12th. Visa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.34%.

Visa declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, April 28th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit-card processor to repurchase up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on V shares. Truist Financial set a $371.00 price objective on shares of Visa and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $415.00 price target on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Visa in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $387.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Visa in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Visa news, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 31,455 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.14, for a total transaction of $10,699,103.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,161,284.36. This represents a 67.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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, CFO Chris Suh sold 10,639 shares of Visa stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.81, for a total value of $3,455,653.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 9,872 shares in the company, valued at $3,206,524.32. This represents a 51.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Visa Company Profile

Visa Inc is a global payments technology company that facilitates electronic funds transfers and digital commerce by connecting consumers, merchants, financial institutions and governments. The firm operates one of the world’s largest payment networks, providing processing, authorization, clearing and settlement services for credit, debit and prepaid card transactions. Visa’s network-based model enables partner banks and other issuers to offer branded payment products while Visa focuses on the infrastructure, standards and technologies that move money securely and efficiently around the world.

Visa’s product and service portfolio includes card-based payment products for consumers and businesses, real-time push-payment capabilities, tokenization and authentication services, fraud and risk-management tools, data analytics and APIs for fintech and merchant integration.