Riverbridge Partners LLC Sells 6,745 Shares of Visa Inc. $V

Riverbridge Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 5.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 120,129 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after selling 6,745 shares during the period. Visa comprises about 1.3% of Riverbridge Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Riverbridge Partners LLC’s holdings in Visa were worth $43,166,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in Visa by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 606,500 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $217,934,000 after purchasing an additional 5,568 shares during the last quarter. CFC Planning Co LLC boosted its holdings in Visa by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. CFC Planning Co LLC now owns 13,305 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $4,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,607 shares during the period. Vega Investment Solutions bought a new stake in Visa in the 2nd quarter valued at $829,000. Brooklands Fund Management Ltd bought a new stake in Visa in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,291,000. Finally, XXEC Inc. grew its position in Visa by 153,118.8% in the 2nd quarter. XXEC Inc. now owns 186,260,448 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $63,904,097,000 after purchasing an additional 186,138,883 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 5,875 shares of Visa stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.22, for a total transaction of $2,445,292.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,315,722.28. The trade was a 27.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Julie Rottenberg sold 1,867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.00, for a total transaction of $789,741.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 18,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,784,892. The trade was a 9.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,262 shares of company stock worth $11,195,791. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Visa Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of V stock opened at $422.95 on Wednesday. Visa Inc. has a one year low of $293.89 and a one year high of $442.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $387.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $345.66. The stock has a market cap of $754.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Visa Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. This is a positive change from Visa’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Visa’s payout ratio is 25.30%.

Visa News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Visa this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target to $490 from $440 and maintained a Buy rating, implying about 15.9% upside from the cited share price. Citigroup recommendations
• Positive Sentiment: Global Payments added Visa’s Intelligent Data Exchange API to its Adaptive Authentication platform. Sharing more transaction data with issuers is intended to reduce false declines and improve digital checkout, supporting the utility of Visa’s data tools. Global Payments expands authentication platform
• Neutral Sentiment: Visa General Counsel Julie Rottenberg sold 1,867 shares for about $790,000 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. She retained 18,404 shares, which may temper concern about the sale as a signal of her outlook. SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: A hotter-than-expected October CPI reading could renew inflation and interest-rate concerns, potentially pressuring richly valued growth-oriented stocks, including Visa. CPI and market drivers
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary on Visa’s long-term performance also flags fee-related lawsuits, stablecoin competition and a high valuation as risks that could challenge its record of outperforming the broader market. Visa’s IPO and long-term performance

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on V. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Visa from $403.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $466.00 target price on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Visa from $410.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets set a $438.00 price target on Visa and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Visa from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and thirty-five have given a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Visa has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $442.29.

About Visa

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.