Peregrine Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)

Peregrine Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V – Get Rating) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 255,353 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,916 shares during the period. Visa accounts for approximately 1.7% of Peregrine Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Peregrine Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Visa were worth $53,052,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. GPM Growth Investors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Visa by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. GPM Growth Investors Inc. now owns 30,150 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $6,264,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Visa in the 4th quarter worth $8,983,000. Thomasville National Bank increased its stake in shares of Visa by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 105,833 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $21,988,000 after purchasing an additional 768 shares in the last quarter. Campbell Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Visa in the 4th quarter worth $205,000. Finally, Single Point Partners LLC increased its stake in Visa by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Single Point Partners LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. 81.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Visa from $210.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Visa from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Wolfe Research increased their price target on Visa from $240.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 5th. UBS Group cut their price target on Visa from $290.00 to $287.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 15th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Visa from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $259.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Visa news, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 13,394 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.00, for a total value of $2,933,286.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 4,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,003,677. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, President Ryan Mcinerney sold 58,197 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.47, for a total transaction of $3,635,566.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 13,394 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.00, for a total transaction of $2,933,286.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 4,583 shares in the company, valued at $1,003,677. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 191,312 shares of company stock valued at $33,751,165 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Visa Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:V opened at $217.39 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Visa Inc. has a 12 month low of $174.60 and a 12 month high of $234.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $223.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $208.28. The company has a market cap of $408.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.40, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.97.

Visa (NYSE:V – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The credit-card processor reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. Visa had a net margin of 50.28% and a return on equity of 49.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Visa Inc. will post 8.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Visa Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 10th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 9th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. This is an increase from Visa’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Visa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.17%.

About Visa

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Visa, Inc engages in the provision of digital payment services. It also facilitates global commerce through the transfer of value and information among a global network of consumers, merchants, financial institutions, businesses, strategic partners, and government entities. It offers debit cards, credit cards, prepaid products, commercial payment solutions, and global automated teller machines (ATMs).