Westpac Banking Corp Sells 2,890 Shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)

Westpac Banking Corp lessened its position in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,997 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after selling 2,890 shares during the period. Visa makes up about 0.9% of Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Visa were worth $13,905,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Visa Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:V opened at $346.49 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $345.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $316.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $643.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.93, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.94. Visa Inc. has a 52-week low of $252.70 and a 52-week high of $366.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12.

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

Visa Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. Visa’s payout ratio is 23.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

V has been the subject of several research reports. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Visa from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Visa from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays raised their price objective on Visa from $361.00 to $396.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America upped their target price on Visa from $331.00 to $363.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $393.00 price target (up from $374.00) on shares of Visa in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $355.84.

Insider Transactions at Visa

In other news, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 2,572 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $874,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 11,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,054,500. This represents a 17.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Paul D. Fabara sold 39,350 shares of Visa stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 26,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,642,333.60. This trade represents a 59.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 134,585 shares of company stock worth $45,821,697 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.