Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) Shares Sold by Columbia Asset Management

Columbia Asset Management reduced its stake in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 56,291 shares of the credit-card processor's stock after selling 2,586 shares during the period. Visa comprises approximately 3.3% of Columbia Asset Management's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Columbia Asset Management's holdings in Visa were worth $17,790,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Visa during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Visa during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Visa by 48.5% in the fourth quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 98 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Visa during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of Visa in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 82.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Visa Stock Up 0.0 %

Visa stock traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $346.49. 5,667,347 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,156,352. The stock has a market cap of $643.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Visa Inc. has a 1-year low of $252.70 and a 1-year high of $366.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $345.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $316.58.

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Visa (NYSE:V - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 anticipate that Visa Inc. will post 11.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Visa Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Visa's dividend payout ratio is 23.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Paul D. Fabara sold 39,350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.20, for a total transaction of $12,875,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 26,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,642,333.60. This trade represents a 59.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 2,572 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total transaction of $874,480.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 11,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,054,500. The trade was a 17.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 143,205 shares of company stock worth $48,560,961 over the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Visa from $360.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn raised Visa from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com raised Visa from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Visa from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Visa in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Five 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $355.84.

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.