Visa Inc. $V Stock Holdings Lifted by Harber Asset Management LLC

Harber Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 18.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,750 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,987 shares during the period. Visa makes up approximately 5.3% of Harber Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Harber Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Visa were worth $8,835,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of V. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Visa by 58.1% during the first quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 4,201 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $1,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,543 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Visa by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,975,832 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $56,455,834,000 after purchasing an additional 1,054,343 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Financial Group lifted its position in Visa by 83.9% during the first quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 22,501 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $6,801,000 after buying an additional 10,267 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Visa by 43.7% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Investment Management LLC now owns 17,832 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $6,254,000 after buying an additional 5,421 shares during the period. Finally, Pincus Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Visa in the 4th quarter worth about $4,278,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Visa

In other news, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 2,027 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total value of $729,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 18,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,625,440. This represents a 9.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Tullier Kelly Mahon sold 57,272 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $364.97, for a total transaction of $20,902,561.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 49,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,125,140.14. The trade was a 53.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 90,759 shares of company stock worth $32,375,779. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $403.00 price target (up from $391.00) on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Visa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $440.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $430.00 target price on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Evercore set a $350.00 price target on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-four have given a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $413.58.

Visa Price Performance

V stock opened at $371.09 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $662.18 billion, a PE ratio of 31.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $353.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $329.64. Visa Inc. has a 12-month low of $293.89 and a 12-month high of $373.97.

Visa (NYSE:V) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The credit-card processor reported $3.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $11.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.40 billion. Visa had a return on equity of 67.68% and a net margin of 50.78%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.98 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Visa Inc. will post 13.16 EPS for the current year.

Visa announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 28th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit-card processor to repurchase 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.

Visa Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Visa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.79%.

About Visa

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.