Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) Stock Holdings Decreased by Appleton Partners Inc. MA

Appleton Partners Inc. MA lowered its stake in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 89,371 shares of the credit-card processor's stock after selling 5,786 shares during the period. Visa comprises 2.1% of Appleton Partners Inc. MA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Appleton Partners Inc. MA's holdings in Visa were worth $28,245,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Platform Technology Partners grew its position in Visa by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 9,774 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $3,089,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Visa by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 145,372 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $45,943,000 after purchasing an additional 1,714 shares during the period. Realta Investment Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Visa by 49.4% during the 4th quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 2,675 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $843,000 after purchasing an additional 884 shares during the period. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. purchased a new position in shares of Visa during the 4th quarter worth $4,086,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Visa during the 4th quarter worth $2,435,000. 82.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Visa

In related news, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 8,620 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.78, for a total transaction of $2,739,263.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Paul D. Fabara sold 2,171 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total transaction of $668,602.87. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 17,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,510,815.18. This trade represents a 10.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 58,056 shares of company stock worth $19,830,050 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Visa Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:V traded up $4.03 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $355.52. The stock had a trading volume of 4,278,667 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,770,101. Visa Inc. has a 1 year low of $252.70 and a 1 year high of $356.08. The firm's 50 day moving average is $323.36 and its 200-day moving average is $297.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $660.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.97.

Visa (NYSE:V - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit-card processor reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.66 by $0.09. Visa had a return on equity of 54.79% and a net margin of 54.27%. Research analysts predict that Visa Inc. will post 11.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Visa Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 11th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. Visa's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on V shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Visa from $346.00 to $384.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Visa from $326.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup upped their price target on Visa from $354.00 to $393.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised their price target on Visa from $331.00 to $363.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Visa from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $354.73.

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.