Meridian Wealth Management LLC Increases Stake in Visa Inc. $V

Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,762 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,971 shares during the quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Visa were worth $10,789,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Patron Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Visa by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 4,648 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $1,587,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Visa by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC now owns 3,344 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $1,142,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. High Note Wealth LLC lifted its position in Visa by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 474 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $162,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Visa by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,541 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $526,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Chapman Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Visa by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Chapman Financial Group LLC now owns 3,211 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $1,096,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 82.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Visa Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of V stock opened at $323.99 on Tuesday. Visa Inc. has a 1-year low of $293.89 and a 1-year high of $375.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $310.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $326.38. The company has a market cap of $581.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.22, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.78.

Visa (NYSE:V) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The credit-card processor reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.21. Visa had a net margin of 51.68% and a return on equity of 65.00%. The firm had revenue of $11.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.76 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Visa Inc. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Visa Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. Visa’s dividend payout ratio is 23.34%.

Visa declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 28th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit-card processor to reacquire up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Visa in a report on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $410.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $389.00 price objective on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Piper Sandler set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 target price on shares of Visa in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Visa from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $387.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lloyd Carney sold 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.62, for a total transaction of $201,253.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,679 shares in the company, valued at $829,471.98. This represents a 19.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 31,455 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.14, for a total value of $10,699,103.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,174 shares in the company, valued at $5,161,284.36. The trade was a 67.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Visa

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.