Visa Inc. $V Shares Sold by Sowa Financial Group Inc.

Sowa Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,298 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after selling 1,780 shares during the period. Visa comprises 2.4% of Sowa Financial Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Sowa Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Visa were worth $4,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Visa by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,338 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $1,185,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Transcendent Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Visa by 2.9% in the second quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC now owns 1,013 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Visa by 1.6% during the third quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 1,875 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $640,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Old Port Advisors grew its holdings in Visa by 0.9% during the third quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 3,423 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $1,169,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Interchange Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Visa by 0.5% in the second quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,413 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $2,276,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 82.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Visa Stock Performance

Shares of V opened at $349.45 on Friday. Visa Inc. has a 12-month low of $299.00 and a 12-month high of $375.51. The stock has a market cap of $636.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.23, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a 50-day moving average of $337.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $344.64.

Visa (NYSE:V) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The credit-card processor reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. Visa had a net margin of 50.15% and a return on equity of 60.31%. The business had revenue of $10.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.60 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.71 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Visa Inc. will post 11.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Visa Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on V shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of Visa to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $408.00 price objective (up previously from $398.00) on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. HSBC upgraded shares of Visa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $335.00 to $389.00 in a research report on Sunday, December 7th. UBS Group set a $425.00 price target on shares of Visa and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Visa from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $402.52.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Paul D. Fabara sold 2,172 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.93, for a total value of $707,919.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 26,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,608,789.09. The trade was a 7.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lloyd Carney sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $336.48, for a total transaction of $302,832.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,468 shares in the company, valued at $830,432.64. This represents a 26.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 24,042 shares of company stock worth $8,175,152 over the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.