Stephens Consulting LLC Decreases Stake in Visa Inc.

Stephens Consulting LLC has reduced its holdings in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V – Free Report) by 8.1% during the third quarter. According to the firm's latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), they now own 417 shares of the credit card company's stock, having sold 37 shares in this period. The value of their investment in Visa stands at approximately $115,000 based on the latest SEC report.

Other significant investors have also made modifications to their positions in Visa. For instance, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Visa by 0.6% during the first quarter, resulting in ownership of 142,202,830 shares, valued at around $39.69 billion. This increase followed the purchase of an additional 788,908 shares in the last quarter. Similarly, Capital International Investors raised its position in Visa by 2.7%, acquiring an extra 626,618 shares, which brought their total to 23,570,391 shares, worth approximately $6.58 billion.

Moreover, Capital World Investors enhanced their stake by 5.4% in the same timeframe, obtaining a total of 18,863,796 shares valued at $5.26 billion after purchasing an additional 968,008 shares. Ameriprise Financial Inc. also lifted its position in Visa by 2.4%, now holding 14,610,590 shares, valued at about $3.83 billion after adding 345,829 shares. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake by 2.2%, ending up with 14,416,394 shares valued at $3.78 billion after acquiring 312,286 additional shares. In total, 82.15% of Visa's shares are owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Predictions on Visa's Performance

Visa has attracted attention from several analysts in recent reports. StockNews.com upgraded Visa from a “hold” to a “buy” rating on August 9th. Macquarie reiterated an “outperform” rating with a price target of $300 on September 27th. Bank of America also increased its target price for Visa from $279 to $308 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating. Evercore ISI decreased its price target from $335 to $330 while maintaining an “outperform” assessment. Additionally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating for Visa, setting a target price of $317. A total of four analysts have assigned a hold rating, while twenty-three have rated the stock as a buy, with two giving a strong buy rating. According to MarketBeat.com, Visa boasts an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.19.

Insider Sales of Visa Stock

In other news, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 8,620 shares on September 3rd at an average price of $276.37, totaling $2.38 million. Following this sale, Mcinerney holds 538 shares valued at about $148,687. This transaction represents no significant change in his overall ownership percentage of the company. Information about this transaction has been disclosed in SEC filings.

Current Visa Share Performance

As of Monday, Visa shares opened at $290.62. Over the past year, Visa recorded a low of $228.03 and a high of $293.07. The company has a market capitalization of $531.53 billion and a PE ratio of 32.47. Its price-to-earnings growth ratio stands at 2.00, and it has a beta of 0.96. The 50-day moving average shares for the company stand at $276.91, while its 200-day moving average is at $272.88. Visa has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54 and both a current and quick ratio of 1.37.

In the latest quarterly earnings announcement on July 23rd, Visa reported earnings per share of $2.42, aligning with analyst expectations. The company posted revenues of $8.90 billion, slightly below expectations of $8.92 billion. Visa's net margin was 54.72%, and they achieved a return on equity of 51.94%. Revenue increased by 9.6% compared to the previous year, and last year, Visa's EPS stood at $2.16. Analysts forecast that Visa will report an EPS of 9.92 for the current year.

Visa's Dividend Information

Recently, Visa declared a quarterly dividend of $0.52, which was paid to shareholders on September 3rd. Investors who were on record as of August 9th received this dividend, with an ex-dividend date of the same. The dividend yield amounts to 0.72%, with an annualized dividend of $2.08 and a payout ratio of 23.24%.

Understanding Visa's Business Framework

Visa Inc. operates as a payment technology company both in the United States and worldwide. The company manages VisaNet, a transaction processing network that facilitates the authorization, clearing, and settlement of payment transactions. Visa offers various products, including credit, debit, and prepaid cards, as well as services such as tap-to-pay and tokenization. Other solutions include Visa Direct, which allows for fund delivery to cards and digital wallets, Visa B2B Connect for business-to-business payments, and a suite of additional services focused on fraud management, data analytics, and customer engagement.

Visa, Investment, Stock