Meridian Management Co. Boosts Stake in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)

Meridian Management Co. boosted its holdings in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,006 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the quarter. Visa comprises approximately 1.1% of Meridian Management Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Meridian Management Co.’s holdings in Visa were worth $4,401,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Visa by 970.0% during the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 107 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Visa during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Visa by 211.9% during the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Visa in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Visa during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.15% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 8,620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.37, for a total transaction of $2,382,309.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 538 shares in the company, valued at $148,687.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Visa Stock Performance

Shares of V opened at $310.98 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $566.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.95. Visa Inc. has a 12-month low of $244.11 and a 12-month high of $312.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $284.64 and its 200-day moving average is $274.92.

Visa (NYSE:V) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The credit-card processor reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.58 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $9.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.49 billion. Visa had a return on equity of 53.16% and a net margin of 54.96%. The company’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.33 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Visa Inc. will post 11.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Visa Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This is a positive change from Visa’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. Visa’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on V shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Visa from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Visa from $318.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Visa from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Visa from $311.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $321.00 target price (up from $318.00) on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $321.74.

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.