Visa Inc. $V Stock Sold by Inspire Trust Co. N.A.

Inspire Trust Co. N.A. lessened its holdings in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 5.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,000 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. Visa makes up 1.5% of Inspire Trust Co. N.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Inspire Trust Co. N.A.’s holdings in Visa were worth $12,577,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. John Boyer Inc. bought a new stake in Visa in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Visa in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in Visa in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Robinswood Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Visa in the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Portfolio Resources Advisor Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Visa in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 82.15% of the company’s stock.

Visa News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Visa this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target to $490 from $440 and maintained a Buy rating, implying about 15.9% upside from the cited share price. Citigroup recommendations
• Positive Sentiment: Global Payments added Visa’s Intelligent Data Exchange API to its Adaptive Authentication platform. Sharing more transaction data with issuers is intended to reduce false declines and improve digital checkout, supporting the utility of Visa’s data tools. Global Payments expands authentication platform
• Neutral Sentiment: Visa General Counsel Julie Rottenberg sold 1,867 shares for about $790,000 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. She retained 18,404 shares, which may temper concern about the sale as a signal of her outlook. SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: A hotter-than-expected October CPI reading could renew inflation and interest-rate concerns, potentially pressuring richly valued growth-oriented stocks, including Visa. CPI and market drivers
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary on Visa’s long-term performance also flags fee-related lawsuits, stablecoin competition and a high valuation as risks that could challenge its record of outperforming the broader market. Visa’s IPO and long-term performance

Visa Stock Performance

Shares of Visa stock opened at $422.95 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $754.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $387.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $345.66. Visa Inc. has a 12 month low of $293.89 and a 12 month high of $442.23.

Visa (NYSE:V) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The credit-card processor reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $12.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. Visa had a net margin of 51.20% and a return on equity of 70.50%. The company’s revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.98 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Visa Inc. will post 15.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Visa Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is an increase from Visa’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Visa’s dividend payout ratio is 25.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

V has been the topic of a number of research reports. President Capital lifted their target price on shares of Visa from $411.00 to $474.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Visa from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Visa from $432.00 to $463.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. BMO Capital Markets set a $438.00 price objective on Visa and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $460.00 price objective (up from $435.00) on shares of Visa in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and thirty-five have given a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Visa currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $442.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 5,875 shares of Visa stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.22, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction 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, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 1,867 shares of Visa stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.00, for a total transaction of $789,741.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 18,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,784,892. The trade was a 9.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 29,262 shares of company stock worth $11,195,791 in the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.