Westpac Banking Corp Sells 4,475 Shares of Visa Inc. $V

Westpac Banking Corp decreased its holdings in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 11.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,986 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after selling 4,475 shares during the quarter. Visa accounts for about 0.7% of Westpac Banking Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Visa were worth $10,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clayton Financial Group LLC grew its position in Visa by 446.2% during the fourth quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 71 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp raised its holdings in Visa by 102.7% in the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 75 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Cresta Advisors Ltd. acquired a new position in Visa in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Visa by 200.0% during the 3rd quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC now owns 75 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Dorato Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Visa during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 82.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on V shares. Evercore set a $350.00 target price on Visa in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Visa in a research report on Monday, June 29th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $394.00 price objective for the company. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of Visa in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. They set a “buy” rating and a $387.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Visa in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $420.00 target price on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $398.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 31,455 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.14, for a total value of $10,699,103.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,161,284.36. This trade represents a 67.46% decrease in their position. The transaction 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, CFO Chris Suh sold 10,639 shares of Visa stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.81, for a total transaction of $3,455,653.59. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 9,872 shares in the company, valued at $3,206,524.32. This trade represents a 51.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 75,581 shares of company stock valued at $25,627,975. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Visa Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of V opened at $355.94 on Wednesday. Visa Inc. has a 52-week low of $293.89 and a 52-week high of $365.14. The business’s fifty day moving average is $335.74 and its 200-day moving average is $325.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $638.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.75.

Visa (NYSE:V) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The credit-card processor reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.21. Visa had a return on equity of 65.00% and a net margin of 51.68%.The company had revenue of $11.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.76 EPS. Visa’s revenue was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Visa Inc. will post 13.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Visa Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Visa’s payout ratio is presently 23.34%.

Visa announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit-card processor to buy up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.