Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 185,621 Shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,353,179 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after selling 185,621 shares during the period. Visa accounts for about 0.8% of Franklin Resources Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.50% of Visa worth $2,955,979,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of V. Family Legacy Inc. grew its position in shares of Visa by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Family Legacy Inc. now owns 17,348 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $5,423,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Seven Mile Advisory boosted its stake in Visa by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 4,731 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $1,495,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC grew its holdings in Visa by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 41,139 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $13,002,000 after purchasing an additional 2,942 shares during the last quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE increased its position in shares of Visa by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 836,418 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $264,342,000 after purchasing an additional 89,206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Visa by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 7,238 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $2,288,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.15% of the company’s stock.

Visa Stock Performance

NYSE V opened at $342.62 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Visa Inc. has a twelve month low of $252.70 and a twelve month high of $366.54. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $343.60 and a 200 day moving average of $315.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $636.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.54, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.95.

Visa (NYSE:V) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit-card processor reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.66 by $0.09. Visa had a return on equity of 54.79% and a net margin of 54.27%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Visa Inc. will post 11.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Visa Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Visa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.79%.

Insider Transactions at Visa

In related news, insider Paul D. Fabara sold 39,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.41, for a total transaction of $13,395,133.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,991,249.33. The trade was a 59.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 8,620 shares of Visa stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $363.00, for a total transaction of $3,129,060.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $194,931. This trade represents a 94.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 143,205 shares of company stock valued at $48,560,961 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on V. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Visa in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Visa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Visa in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Visa from $361.00 to $396.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Visa from $331.00 to $363.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $355.84.

Visa Company Profile

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.