Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) Shares Sold by Carret Asset Management LLC

Carret Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V – Get Rating) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 22,065 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after selling 700 shares during the period. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Visa were worth $4,584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BCK Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Visa during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,717,000. Markel Corp grew its stake in Visa by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Markel Corp now owns 961,105 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $213,144,000 after acquiring an additional 3,065 shares in the last quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Visa during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,323,000. Ergoteles LLC purchased a new stake in Visa during the 1st quarter valued at about $538,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Visa during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,496,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.87% of the company’s stock.

Visa Price Performance

Visa stock opened at $217.39 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $408.91 billion, a PE ratio of 30.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.97. Visa Inc. has a 52-week low of $174.60 and a 52-week high of $234.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company’s 50 day moving average is $223.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $208.28.

Visa (NYSE:V – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 26th. The credit-card processor reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.17. Visa had a net margin of 50.28% and a return on equity of 49.95%. The business had revenue of $7.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.81 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Visa Inc. will post 8.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Visa Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a positive change from Visa’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 9th. Visa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on V. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Visa from $290.00 to $287.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 15th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Visa from $261.00 to $281.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Visa from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 30th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Visa from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 29th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group increased their price target on shares of Visa from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $259.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. sold 58,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total value of $12,991,420.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 162,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,365,672.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. sold 58,000 shares of Visa stock in a transaction on Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total value of $12,991,420.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 162,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,365,672.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Ryan Mcinerney sold 58,197 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.47, for a total transaction of $3,635,566.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 191,312 shares of company stock valued at $33,751,165. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

About Visa

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Visa, Inc engages in the provision of digital payment services. It also facilitates global commerce through the transfer of value and information among a global network of consumers, merchants, financial institutions, businesses, strategic partners, and government entities. It offers debit cards, credit cards, prepaid products, commercial payment solutions, and global automated teller machines (ATMs).