Visa Inc. $V Stock Sold by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp lessened its stake in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 0.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 870,050 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after selling 2,522 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Visa were worth $312,635,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in V. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $217,934,000 after purchasing an additional 5,568 shares in the last quarter. CFC Planning Co LLC raised its holdings in Visa by 13.7% in the 3rd 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 period. Vega Investment Solutions bought a new position in Visa in the 2nd quarter worth $829,000. Brooklands Fund Management Ltd bought a new position in Visa in the 3rd quarter worth $5,291,000. Finally, XXEC Inc. lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 186,138,883 shares in the last quarter. 82.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Visa Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of V stock opened at $425.56 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Visa Inc. has a one year low of $293.89 and a one year high of $442.23. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $388.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $346.16. The company has a market capitalization of $759.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.51, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.80.

Visa (NYSE:V) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The credit-card processor reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 posted $2.98 EPS. Visa’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Visa Inc. will post 15.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Visa Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. This is a positive change from Visa’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Visa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.30%.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 2,028 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.35, for a total transaction of $773,377.80. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 18,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,018,365.40. This trade represents a 9.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 5,875 shares of Visa stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.87, for a total value of $2,161,236.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,174 shares in the company, valued at $5,582,059.38. This trade represents a 27.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 29,262 shares of company stock worth $11,195,791 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Visa from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $445.00 price target on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Visa from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $479.00 price objective (up from $430.00) on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Visa from $475.00 to $486.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and thirty-five have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $443.35.

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.