Visa Inc. $V Position Lessened by Provident Trust Co.

Provident Trust Co. cut its position in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 29.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 840,466 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after selling 342,680 shares during the period. Visa accounts for 9.4% of Provident Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Provident Trust Co.’s holdings in Visa were worth $302,005,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in Visa by 7.5% during the third quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 6,533 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $2,348,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Visa by 2.4% during the third quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 54,189 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $19,472,000 after buying an additional 1,257 shares in the last quarter. Boit C F David raised its holdings in Visa by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Boit C F David now owns 26,710 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $9,598,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Visa by 8.6% during the third quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 3,800 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $1,365,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. grew its holdings in shares of Visa by 2.5% in the third quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. now owns 2,955 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. 82.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Visa Price Performance

V stock opened at $413.69 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $738.20 billion, a PE ratio of 33.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.77. Visa Inc. has a 12-month low of $293.89 and a 12-month high of $417.00. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $381.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $342.25.

Visa (NYSE:V) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The credit-card processor reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $12.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.09 billion. Visa had a return on equity of 70.50% and a net margin of 51.20%. Visa’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.98 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Visa Inc. will post 15.03 EPS for the current year.

Visa Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is a boost from Visa’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. Visa’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.30%.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 1,867 shares of Visa stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.34, for a total value of $687,690.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 18,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,778,929.36. The trade was a 9.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 5,875 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.81, for a total transaction of $2,108,008.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,444,582.94. The trade was a 27.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 21,520 shares of company stock worth $7,960,757 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Visa from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target (up from $420.00) on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Visa from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $479.00 price objective (up from $430.00) on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Visa from $420.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $438.41.

About Visa

Visa Inc (NYSE: V) is a global payments technology company that facilitates electronic payments between consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments. Through its VisaNet network, the company authorizes, clears and settles transactions made with Visa-branded credit, debit and prepaid cards, while generally not issuing cards, extending credit or setting cardholder account terms.

Visa provides payment products and services for consumer, commercial and government payments, as well as digital commerce and money movement.