EP Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 38,749 Shares of Visa Inc. $V

EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 12.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 359,913 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after buying an additional 38,749 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Visa were worth $123,483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of V. G&S Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Visa by 4.0% in the second quarter. G&S Capital LLC now owns 761 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Visa by 0.9% in the second quarter. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,189 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $1,094,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. NerdWallet Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Visa by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. NerdWallet Wealth Partners LLC now owns 695 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Planned Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Visa by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. now owns 1,598 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $560,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Frederick Financial Consultants LLC lifted its holdings in Visa by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Frederick Financial Consultants LLC now owns 1,598 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $560,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. 82.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Visa

In related news, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 20,970 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.25, for a total value of $7,135,042.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 15,174 shares in the company, valued at $5,162,953.50. The trade was a 58.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Tullier Kelly Mahon sold 57,272 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $364.97, for a total value 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 approximately $18,125,140.14. This represents a 53.56% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 90,759 shares of company stock valued at $32,375,779. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $416.00 price target on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $445.00 price target on shares of Visa and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $403.00 price objective (up from $391.00) on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Evercore set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-four have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $413.58.

Visa Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:V opened at $371.09 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $353.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $329.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $662.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.56, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.74. Visa Inc. has a one year low of $293.89 and a one year high of $373.97.

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

Visa declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, April 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit-card processor to repurchase up to 3.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Visa Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. Visa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.