Visa (NYSE:V) Trading Up 2.3% – Here’s Why

Shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) were up 2.3% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $359.49 and last traded at $357.0210. Approximately 9,954,062 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 24% from the average daily volume of 8,041,487 shares. The stock had previously closed at $348.97.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on V. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Visa from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Visa in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. They set a “buy” rating and a $387.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $389.00 target price on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays assumed coverage on Visa in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $420.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Visa in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Visa has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $397.91.

Visa Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $640.41 billion, a PE ratio of 31.10, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $330.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $324.86.

Visa (NYSE:V) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The credit-card processor reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.21. Visa had a return on equity of 65.00% and a net margin of 51.68%.The business had revenue of $11.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.76 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Visa Inc. will post 13.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Visa Dividend Announcement

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

Visa announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit-card processor to buy up to 3.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Visa news, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 2,027 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total transaction of $729,720.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 18,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,625,440. This represents a 9.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 10,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.99, for a total transaction of $3,608,455.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,219,704.26. This represents a 40.87% 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 75,581 shares of company stock valued at $25,627,975. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Visa

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clayton Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Visa by 446.2% in the fourth quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 71 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. PayPay Securities Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Visa by 102.7% during the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 75 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Cresta Advisors Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Visa during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Visa by 200.0% in the third quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC now owns 75 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dorato Capital Management purchased a new stake in Visa in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.15% 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.