Visa (NYSE:V) Trading 1.2% Higher on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) traded up 1.2% during trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $283.00 and last traded at $277.38. 2,823,646 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 5,834,916 shares. The stock had previously closed at $274.11.

The credit-card processor reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $8.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.62 billion. Visa had a net margin of 53.87% and a return on equity of 51.72%. The company’s revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share.

Visa Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Visa’s dividend payout ratio is 23.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on V. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Visa from $314.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Visa from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Visa in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $320.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Visa from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $307.00 price objective on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $302.58.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 8,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.39, for a total value of $2,228,128.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CAO Peter M. Andreski sold 2,615 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.88, for a total value of $729,271.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,365,954.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 8,150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.39, for a total transaction of $2,228,128.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,965 shares of company stock valued at $5,256,352. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Visa

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Visa by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 20,176 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $4,641,000 after buying an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Visa by 54.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,621 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $1,293,000 after buying an additional 1,970 shares during the last quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. grew its position in shares of Visa by 74.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 2,917 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $671,000 after buying an additional 1,242 shares during the last quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Visa by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 11,948 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $2,748,000 after buying an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. grew its position in shares of Visa by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. now owns 2,568 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $591,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.15% of the company’s stock.

Visa Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $279.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $264.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $505.33 billion, a PE ratio of 30.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.96.

About Visa

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.