Griffin Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stake in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 3.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,191 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after selling 1,695 shares during the period. Visa comprises approximately 2.2% of Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Visa were worth $17,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Visa during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in Visa during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its position in Visa by 377.3% during the fourth quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 105 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in Visa during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Visa during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. 82.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on V shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Visa from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Macquarie decreased their target price on shares of Visa from $400.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Visa in a report on Monday, June 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Citigroup initiated coverage on Visa in a report on Monday, June 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Visa presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $372.80.

Visa Price Performance

Shares of Visa stock opened at $352.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $349.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $337.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $650.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.94. Visa Inc. has a one year low of $252.70 and a one year high of $375.51.

Visa (NYSE:V) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The credit-card processor reported $2.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.08. Visa had a return on equity of 54.79% and a net margin of 54.27%. The firm had revenue of $9.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Visa Inc. will post 11.3 EPS for the current year.

Visa Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Visa’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.72%.

Insider Activity at Visa

In related news, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 2,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.58, for a total transaction of $889,868.50. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 11,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,121,041.50. This represents a 17.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 8,620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.44, for a total value of $3,020,792.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $188,186.28. This trade represents a 94.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,448 shares of company stock worth $50,133,659 over the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Visa

Visa Inc operates as a payment technology company in the United States and internationally. The company operates VisaNet, a transaction processing network that enables authorization, clearing, and settlement of payment transactions. It also offers credit, debit, and prepaid card products; tap to pay, tokenization, and click to pay services; Visa Direct, a solution that facilitates the delivery of funds to eligible cards, deposit accounts, and digital wallets; Visa B2B Connect, a multilateral business-to-business cross-border payments network; Visa Cross-Border Solution, a cross-border consumer payments solution; and Visa DPS that provides a range of value-added services, including fraud mitigation, dispute management, data analytics, campaign management, a suite of digital solutions, and contact center services.