AIA Group Ltd Reduces Stock Holdings in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)

AIA Group Ltd lowered its stake in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 254,475 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after selling 3,860 shares during the period. Visa accounts for about 1.9% of AIA Group Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Visa were worth $80,424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Tullier Kelly Mahon sold 33,741 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $349.77, for a total transaction of $11,801,589.57. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,789,689.82. This represents a 47.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paul D. Fabara sold 39,350 shares of Visa stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.20, for a total value of $12,875,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 have sold 143,205 shares of company stock worth $48,560,961 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Visa Price Performance

Visa stock opened at $342.62 on Monday. Visa Inc. has a 12-month low of $252.70 and a 12-month high of $366.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $636.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $343.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $315.49. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit-card processor reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.66 by $0.09. Visa had a net margin of 54.27% and a return on equity of 54.79%. Equities analysts predict that Visa Inc. will post 11.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Visa Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. Visa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on V. StockNews.com raised shares of Visa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Visa from $326.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $393.00 price objective (up previously from $374.00) on shares of Visa in a research note on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Visa in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Visa from $340.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Five equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Visa has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.