HS Management Partners LLC Purchases 15,945 Shares of Visa Inc. $V

HS Management Partners LLC boosted its position in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 40.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 55,575 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,945 shares during the period. Visa makes up approximately 2.5% of HS Management Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. HS Management Partners LLC’s holdings in Visa were worth $18,972,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Visa by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 162,544,006 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $57,711,249,000 after acquiring an additional 1,461,575 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Visa by 2.5% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 43,096,802 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $15,253,245,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067,631 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Visa during the second quarter worth $7,034,939,000. TCI Fund Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Visa by 14.6% during the second quarter. TCI Fund Management Ltd. now owns 19,067,558 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $6,769,936,000 after purchasing an additional 2,429,996 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Visa by 1.1% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,820,885 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $4,552,057,000 after purchasing an additional 145,665 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Visa news, insider Paul D. Fabara sold 2,172 shares of Visa stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.93, for a total value of $707,919.96. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 26,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,608,789.09. The trade was a 7.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 10,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.18, for a total value of $3,661,152.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 9,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,282,641.18. The trade was a 52.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 24,042 shares of company stock worth $8,247,289. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Visa Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE V opened at $349.75 on Friday. Visa Inc. has a 12-month low of $299.00 and a 12-month high of $375.51. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $340.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $344.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $637.15 billion, a PE ratio of 34.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Visa (NYSE:V) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The credit-card processor reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. Visa had a return on equity of 60.31% and a net margin of 50.15%.The firm had revenue of $10.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.71 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Visa Inc. will post 11.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Visa Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th were issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from Visa’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Visa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

V has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of Visa from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $382.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Macquarie reduced their target price on shares of Visa from $425.00 to $410.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Citigroup upgraded Visa to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Hsbc Global Res raised Visa from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $425.00 target price on Visa in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $402.52.

Visa Profile

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.