Sienna Gestion Buys 25,014 Shares of Visa Inc. $V

Sienna Gestion increased its stake in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 71.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 59,983 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,014 shares during the quarter. Visa makes up about 1.3% of Sienna Gestion’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Sienna Gestion’s holdings in Visa were worth $18,670,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Visa by 1.6% during the third quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 1,875 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $640,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Old Port Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Visa by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 3,423 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $1,169,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Visa by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp now owns 1,290 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $440,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Define Financial LLC increased its holdings in Visa by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Define Financial LLC now owns 779 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patron Partners LLC raised its position in Visa by 0.6% in the third 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. Institutional investors own 82.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on V. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded shares of Visa from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Visa in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $385.00 price target on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Visa from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $392.65.

Insider Activity at Visa

In related news, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 10,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.18, for a total transaction of $3,661,152.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 9,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,282,641.18. This trade represents a 52.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Visa Stock Down 0.8%

Visa stock opened at $317.23 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $329.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $337.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Visa Inc. has a 52-week low of $299.00 and a 52-week high of $375.51. The firm has a market cap of $575.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.76, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.78.

Visa (NYSE:V) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit-card processor reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $10.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.69 billion. Visa had a net margin of 50.23% and a return on equity of 61.74%. Visa’s quarterly revenue was up 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.75 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Visa Inc. will post 11.3 EPS for the current year.

Visa Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Visa’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.14%.

Visa Company 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.