Index Fund Advisors Inc. Acquires 3,818 Shares of Visa Inc. $V

Index Fund Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 81.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,517 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after buying an additional 3,818 shares during the period. Index Fund Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Visa were worth $2,907,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Visa in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Visa during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. bought a new position in Visa during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Bare Financial Services Inc boosted its position in Visa by 287.0% in the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 89 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Visa by 82.0% during the second quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.15% of the company’s stock.

Visa Stock Down 1.1%

NYSE V opened at $352.08 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $641.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.81. Visa Inc. has a 52 week low of $299.00 and a 52 week high of $375.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $339.91 and a 200-day moving average of $344.15.

Visa (NYSE:V) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The credit-card processor reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $10.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.60 billion. Visa had a return on equity of 60.31% and a net margin of 50.15%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.71 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Visa Inc. will post 11.3 EPS for the current year.

Visa Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from Visa’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Visa’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Paul D. Fabara sold 2,172 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.93, for a total value of $707,919.96. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 26,413 shares in the company, valued at $8,608,789.09. This represents a 7.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Lloyd Carney sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.48, for a total transaction of $302,832.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $830,432.64. The trade was a 26.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 24,042 shares of company stock valued at $8,247,289 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

V has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $408.00 target price (up previously from $398.00) on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Visa from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $425.00 target price on Visa in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Visa to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Visa presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $402.52.

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.