StockNews.com Downgrades Visa (NYSE:V) to Hold

Visa (NYSE:V – Get Rating) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Visa from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Visa from $249.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Redburn Partners began coverage on Visa in a research note on Tuesday, November 29th. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Visa from $210.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Visa from $225.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Visa presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $259.11.

Visa Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:V opened at $217.45 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $223.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $208.17. Visa has a 52 week low of $174.60 and a 52 week high of $234.30. The company has a market capitalization of $409.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Visa (NYSE:V – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 26th. The credit-card processor reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.17. Visa had a return on equity of 49.95% and a net margin of 50.28%. The company had revenue of $7.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.81 earnings per share. Visa’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Visa will post 8.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Visa news, President Ryan Mcinerney sold 58,197 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.47, for a total value of $3,635,566.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Visa news, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 13,394 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.00, for a total value of $2,933,286.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 4,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,003,677. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Ryan Mcinerney sold 58,197 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.47, for a total value of $3,635,566.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 191,312 shares of company stock worth $33,751,165 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Claro Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Visa by 81.3% during the 4th quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 5,059 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $1,051,000 after purchasing an additional 2,268 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in shares of Visa by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 21,998 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $4,570,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares during the last quarter. Financial Alternatives Inc acquired a new position in shares of Visa during the 4th quarter worth approximately $370,000. Nordwand Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Visa during the 4th quarter worth approximately $862,000. Finally, Great Lakes Retirement Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Visa during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,238,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.87% of the company’s stock.

About Visa

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Visa, Inc engages in the provision of digital payment services. It also facilitates global commerce through the transfer of value and information among a global network of consumers, merchants, financial institutions, businesses, strategic partners, and government entities. It offers debit cards, credit cards, prepaid products, commercial payment solutions, and global automated teller machines (ATMs).