M3 Wealth Management LLC Invests $8.73 Million in Visa Inc. $V

M3 Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 24,903 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock, valued at approximately $8,734,000. Visa comprises 6.9% of M3 Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Clayton Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Visa by 446.2% in the fourth quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 71 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp raised its stake in shares of Visa by 102.7% in the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 75 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Cresta Advisors Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Visa in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Visa by 200.0% in the third quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC now owns 75 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dorato Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Visa in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.15% of the company’s stock.

Visa Stock Down 0.5%

Visa stock opened at $327.17 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $586.87 billion, a PE ratio of 28.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. Visa Inc. has a one year low of $293.89 and a one year high of $375.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $313.63 and a 200 day moving average of $325.17.

Visa (NYSE:V) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The credit-card processor reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $11.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.75 billion. Visa had a return on equity of 65.00% and a net margin of 51.68%.Visa’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.76 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Visa Inc. will post 13.09 EPS for the current year.

Visa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. Visa’s dividend payout ratio is 23.34%.

Visa announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit-card processor to buy up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Visa in a research note on Friday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Visa in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $365.00 price target for the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $385.00 price target on Visa in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings cut Visa from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group upgraded Visa from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $386.70.

Insider Activity at Visa

In related news, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 31,455 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.14, for a total transaction of $10,699,103.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 15,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,161,284.36. This represents a 67.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Chris Suh sold 10,639 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.81, for a total value of $3,455,653.59. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 9,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,206,524.32. This trade represents a 51.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,744 shares of company stock worth $14,356,010. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Visa 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.