Visa (NYSE:V) Stock: Insider Ryan Mcinerney Sells 5,875 Shares

Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 5,875 shares of Visa stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.22, for a total value of $2,445,292.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,315,722.28. This represents a 27.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Ryan Mcinerney also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, October 1st, Ryan Mcinerney sold 5,875 shares of Visa stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.81, for a total value of $2,108,008.75.
• On Tuesday, September 1st, Ryan Mcinerney sold 5,875 shares of Visa stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.65, for a total value of $2,230,443.75.
• On Friday, August 21st, Ryan Mcinerney sold 5,875 shares of Visa stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.87, for a total transaction of $2,161,236.25.

Visa Price Performance

Shares of V opened at $436.21 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Visa Inc. has a twelve month low of $293.89 and a twelve month high of $436.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $778.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50 day moving average of $384.21 and a 200-day moving average of $343.74.

Visa (NYSE:V) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The credit-card processor reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $12.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. Visa had a net margin of 51.20% and a return on equity of 70.50%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Visa Inc. will post 15.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Visa Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be given a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Visa’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. Visa’s payout ratio is 25.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Visa from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Visa from $403.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Argus lifted their target price on Visa from $396.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $445.00 target price on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $440.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $440.03.

Visa News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Visa this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Verifone has deployed Visa’s Featurespace fraud-screening technology across its payment gateways. The system assesses transactions in real time across in-store, online and mobile channels, giving Visa another opportunity to expand its fraud-prevention services; the announcements did not disclose the financial size of the deal. Article: Verifone Turns to Visa’s Featurespace to Combat Fraud
• Positive Sentiment: Visa raised its quarterly dividend from $0.67 to $0.78 per share, an increase of more than 16%. The hike signals confidence in cash generation and adds to shareholder returns, although the yield is still relatively low. Article: Visa Just Hiked Its Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Visa’s latest reported quarter beat analyst expectations for earnings and revenue, with revenue up 13.2% year over year. That performance offers support for the growth outlook behind the dividend increase. Article: Will Earnings Beat Change Visa Stock’s Narrative
• Neutral Sentiment: Former Visa chairman and CEO Joseph Saunders, who led the company through its IPO, has died. The report is a tribute to his legacy and does not indicate an effect on Visa’s current operations. Article: Former Visa CEO Joseph Saunders Dies
• Negative Sentiment: A recent article cautioned investors about buying after Visa’s strong share-price run, noting the relatively low dividend yield. Separately, CEO Ryan McInerney sold 5,875 shares; the transaction was made under a pre-arranged trading plan, which tempers its significance as an outlook signal. Article: Visa Just Hiked Its Dividend Visa insider-trading report

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Visa

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. XXEC Inc. boosted its stake in Visa by 153,118.8% in the second quarter. XXEC Inc. now owns 186,260,448 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $63,904,097,000 after buying an additional 186,138,883 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in Visa during the second quarter worth about $1,435,262,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Visa by 13.0% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 15,720,068 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $5,393,398,000 after acquiring an additional 1,808,496 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Visa by 33.1% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,486,927 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $1,356,090,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116,498 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Visa by 16.5% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 7,714,919 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $2,646,911,000 after acquiring an additional 1,092,315 shares during the last quarter. 82.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Visa

Visa Inc (NYSE: V) is a global payments technology company that facilitates electronic payments between consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments. Through its VisaNet network, the company authorizes, clears and settles transactions made with Visa-branded credit, debit and prepaid cards, while generally not issuing cards, extending credit or setting cardholder account terms.

Visa provides payment products and services for consumer, commercial and government payments, as well as digital commerce and money movement.