Retirement Systems of Alabama Purchases 8,696 Shares of Visa Inc. $V

Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 736,352 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after buying an additional 8,696 shares during the period. Visa makes up approximately 0.8% of Retirement Systems of Alabama’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Visa were worth $264,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Management Group Inc. raised its stake in Visa by 0.9% in the third quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 3,832 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $1,377,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Clear Wave Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Visa by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Clear Wave Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,675 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $961,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC boosted its position in Visa by 39.1% during the 3rd quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC now owns 847 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Visa by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 23,805 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $8,554,000 after acquiring an additional 639 shares during the period. Finally, Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Visa by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 29,931 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $10,755,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.15% of the company’s stock.

Visa Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:V opened at $422.46 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $753.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.26, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Visa Inc. has a one year low of $293.89 and a one year high of $442.23. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $386.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $345.18.

Visa (NYSE:V) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The credit-card processor reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.04. Visa had a net margin of 51.20% and a return on equity of 70.50%. The business had revenue of $12.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Visa Inc. will post 15.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Visa Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Visa’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Visa’s payout ratio is presently 21.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on V. Loop Capital increased their target price on Visa from $387.00 to $404.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target (up from $420.00) on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on Visa from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $445.00 price target on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Visa from $403.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and thirty-five have issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $440.82.

Insider Activity at Visa

In related news, General Counsel Julie Rottenberg sold 1,867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.34, for a total value of $687,690.78. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 18,404 shares in the company, valued at $6,778,929.36. This represents a 9.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.22, for a total value of $2,445,292.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,315,722.28. This trade represents a 27.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 27,395 shares of company stock worth $10,406,050 in the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Visa Company Profile

Visa Inc operates a global payments network that connects consumers, merchants, financial institutions and governments. Its network supports the authorization, clearing and settlement of electronic payments, including transactions made in person and online.

The company’s services include payment processing, fraud prevention, identity and risk management, and money-transfer solutions such as Visa Direct. Visa-branded credit, debit and prepaid cards are issued by participating financial institutions; Visa generally provides the network and related services rather than issuing cards or extending credit directly to consumers.

Visa traces its roots to BankAmericard, a bank card program launched in California in 1958.