Kerrisdale Advisers LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)

Kerrisdale Advisers LLC decreased its holdings in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) by 20.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,430 shares of the credit-card processor's stock after selling 13,280 shares during the period. Visa accounts for approximately 5.6% of Kerrisdale Advisers LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Kerrisdale Advisers LLC's holdings in Visa were worth $16,570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in V. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Visa during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Visa in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Visa by 48.5% during the fourth quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 98 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Visa during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Visa in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.15% of the company's stock.

Visa Stock Performance

Shares of V opened at $334.49 on Thursday. Visa Inc. has a 12 month low of $252.70 and a 12 month high of $366.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $339.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $321.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $621.40 billion, a PE ratio of 33.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.94.

Visa (NYSE:V - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit-card processor reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Visa Inc. will post 11.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Visa Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Visa's payout ratio is currently 23.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on V shares. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Visa in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Visa from $346.00 to $384.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Visa in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Visa from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Visa from $340.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $355.84.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Peter M. Andreski sold 2,332 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $349.62, for a total transaction of $815,313.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,569,094.56. This trade represents a 34.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Paul D. Fabara sold 39,350 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.20, for a total transaction of $12,875,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,642,333.60. The trade was a 59.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 143,205 shares of company stock valued at $48,842,490 over the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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