Commerce Bank Lowers Stock Position in Visa Inc. $V

Commerce Bank reduced its position in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 1.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 684,312 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after selling 10,889 shares during the period. Visa accounts for about 1.0% of Commerce Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Visa were worth $234,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cresta Advisors Ltd. purchased a new stake in Visa in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Visa by 200.0% during the 3rd quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC now owns 75 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Visa in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. RHL Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Visa in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Visa in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 82.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Visa

In other news, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 2,027 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total transaction of $729,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 18,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,625,440. This represents a 9.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 10,490 shares of Visa stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.99, for a total value of $3,608,455.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,219,704.26. This trade represents a 40.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 90,759 shares of company stock worth $32,375,779 over the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Visa Stock Up 1.5%

Visa stock opened at $371.09 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $353.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $329.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Visa Inc. has a twelve month low of $293.89 and a twelve month high of $373.97. The company has a market capitalization of $662.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.74.

Visa (NYSE:V) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The credit-card processor reported $3.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.09. Visa had a net margin of 50.78% and a return on equity of 67.68%. The company had revenue of $11.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.98 EPS. Visa’s revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Visa Inc. will post 13.16 EPS for the current year.

Visa declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 28th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit-card processor to buy up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Visa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. Visa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on V. Erste Group Bank raised Visa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $440.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays initiated coverage on Visa in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $420.00 target price for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $406.00 target price on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-four have given a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $413.58.

About Visa

Visa Inc is a global payments technology company that facilitates electronic funds transfers and digital commerce by connecting consumers, merchants, financial institutions and governments. The firm operates one of the world’s largest payment networks, providing processing, authorization, clearing and settlement services for credit, debit and prepaid card transactions. Visa’s network-based model enables partner banks and other issuers to offer branded payment products while Visa focuses on the infrastructure, standards and technologies that move money securely and efficiently around the world.

Visa’s product and service portfolio includes card-based payment products for consumers and businesses, real-time push-payment capabilities, tokenization and authentication services, fraud and risk-management tools, data analytics and APIs for fintech and merchant integration.