Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) Stock Holdings Decreased by Bell Asset Management Ltd

Bell Asset Management Ltd lessened its holdings in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,163 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after selling 4,611 shares during the period. Visa accounts for approximately 2.1% of Bell Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Bell Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Visa were worth $11,429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Visa during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Visa in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Visa by 48.5% during the 4th quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 98 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Visa during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of Visa during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 82.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Visa news, insider Tullier Kelly Mahon sold 33,741 shares of Visa stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.77, for a total value of $11,801,589.57. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,566 shares in the company, valued at $12,789,689.82. The trade was a 47.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Paul D. Fabara sold 39,350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.20, for a total transaction of $12,875,320.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,642,333.60. The trade was a 59.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 143,205 shares of company stock valued at $48,842,490 over the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Visa Price Performance

Shares of V stock opened at $313.46 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $582.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $345.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $317.27. Visa Inc. has a one year low of $252.70 and a one year high of $366.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Visa (NYSE:V) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit-card processor reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.66 by $0.09. Visa had a return on equity of 54.79% and a net margin of 54.27%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Visa Inc. will post 11.3 EPS for the current year.

Visa Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Visa’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Visa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Visa from $340.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $393.00 target price (up from $374.00) on shares of Visa in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “hold” rating on shares of Visa in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Visa from $346.00 to $384.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Visa has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $355.84.

Visa Profile

Visa Inc operates as a payment technology company in the United States and internationally. The company operates VisaNet, a transaction processing network that enables authorization, clearing, and settlement of payment transactions. It also offers credit, debit, and prepaid card products; tap to pay, tokenization, and click to pay services; Visa Direct, a solution that facilitates the delivery of funds to eligible cards, deposit accounts, and digital wallets; Visa B2B Connect, a multilateral business-to-business cross-border payments network; Visa Cross-Border Solution, a cross-border consumer payments solution; and Visa DPS that provides a range of value-added services, including fraud mitigation, dispute management, data analytics, campaign management, a suite of digital solutions, and contact center services.