Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 18.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 23,804 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,762 shares during the quarter. Visa makes up 0.8% of Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Visa were worth $7,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Maia Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Visa by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 10,285 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $3,441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,176 shares in the last quarter. Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Visa in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,102,000. PCG Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Visa in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,386,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Visa by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 12,701 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $4,014,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower View Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Visa by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,480 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $5,840,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 82.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Visa Stock Performance

Shares of Visa stock opened at $363.33 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $333.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $305.97. The company has a market capitalization of $674.99 billion, a PE ratio of 36.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Visa Inc. has a 52 week low of $252.70 and a 52 week high of $364.00.

Visa (NYSE:V) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 54.79% and a net margin of 54.27%. As a group, analysts expect that Visa Inc. will post 11.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Visa Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 11th. Visa’s payout ratio is 23.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on V shares. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Visa in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $383.00 price objective (up from $368.00) on shares of Visa in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays upped their price objective on Visa from $361.00 to $396.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Visa from $346.00 to $384.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Visa has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $353.96.

Insider Transactions at Visa

In other news, CAO Peter M. Andreski sold 2,332 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.62, for a total transaction of $815,313.84. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,569,094.56. This represents a 34.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Tullier Kelly Mahon sold 33,741 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 36,566 shares in the company, valued at $12,789,689.82. The trade was a 47.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 55,885 shares of company stock valued at $19,161,447. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.