Symphony Financial Services Inc. Cuts Stake in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)

Symphony Financial Services Inc. lowered its position in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,842 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after selling 247 shares during the quarter. Visa accounts for 2.8% of Symphony Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Symphony Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Visa were worth $3,427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Visa in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Visa in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Visa in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Visa by 48.5% in the 4th quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 98 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Visa in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Visa

In related news, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 2,572 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $874,480.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 11,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,054,500. This trade represents a 17.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 8,620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $363.00, for a total transaction of $3,129,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $194,931. The trade was a 94.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 64,505 shares of company stock worth $22,290,507. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Visa Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of V stock opened at $352.18 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $654.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.50, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.95. Visa Inc. has a 1-year low of $252.70 and a 1-year high of $366.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $335.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $307.55.

Visa (NYSE:V) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit-card processor reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.66 by $0.09. Visa had a net margin of 54.27% and a return on equity of 54.79%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Visa Inc. will post 11.3 EPS for the current year.

Visa Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th were issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Visa’s payout ratio is 23.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on V shares. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Visa in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Visa from $361.00 to $396.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Visa from $395.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Visa in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Visa from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $353.96.

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.