Visa (NYSE:V) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at StockNews.com

Stock analysts at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Visa (NYSE:V – Get Rating) in a research note issued on Thursday. The brokerage set a “buy” rating on the credit-card processor’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Visa from $272.00 to $284.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 26th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Visa from $281.00 to $282.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Visa from $225.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 18th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Visa from $250.00 to $260.00 in a report on Monday, April 24th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Visa from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $260.08.

Visa Price Performance

Visa stock opened at $233.31 on Thursday. Visa has a one year low of $174.60 and a one year high of $235.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.50. The business has a fifty day moving average of $227.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $219.94. The company has a market cap of $437.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.97.

Visa (NYSE:V – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 25th. The credit-card processor reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. Visa had a net margin of 50.95% and a return on equity of 50.21%. The firm had revenue of $7.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.79 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Visa will post 8.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Visa news, CFO Vasant M. Prabhu sold 13,343 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.26, for a total value of $3,125,731.18. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 73,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,250,437.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Visa news, CFO Vasant M. Prabhu sold 13,343 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.26, for a total value of $3,125,731.18. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 73,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,250,437.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 13,394 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.00, for a total value of $2,933,286.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 4,583 shares in the company, valued at $1,003,677. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 187,671 shares of company stock valued at $42,943,080. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Visa

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates bought a new position in Visa during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Graham Capital Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Visa during the 1st quarter worth $299,862,000. JDM Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Visa during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Visa during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Financial Freedom LLC bought a new position in Visa during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. 81.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Visa Company Profile

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Visa, Inc engages in the provision of digital payment services. It also facilitates global commerce through the transfer of value and information among a global network of consumers, merchants, financial institutions, businesses, strategic partners, and government entities. It offers debit cards, credit cards, prepaid products, commercial payment solutions, and global automated teller machines (ATMs).