4. Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)
Discovery Capital Management’s Stake Value: $7,841,000
Percentage of Discovery Capital Management’s 13F Portfolio: 0.58%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 143
Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) is a California-based multinational financial services company that offers credit cards and payment systems to customers worldwide. In Q3 2021, Discovery Capital Management acquired 35,200 shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), worth $7.8 million, accounting for 0.58% of the fund’s 13F portfolio.
On January 27, Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) reported earnings for the fourth quarter, posting an EPS of $1.81, topping estimates by $0.11. The company’s revenue came in at $7.06 billion, up 24.13% year-over-year, outperforming estimates by $265 million.
Mizuho analyst Dan Dolev raised the price target on Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) on February 2 to $235 from $220 and kept a Neutral rating on the shares to account for the Q4 results and guidance.
Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) declared on January 27 a $0.375 per share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. The dividend is payable on March 1, to shareholders of record on February 11.
Among the hedge funds monitored by Insider Monkey in Q3 2021, 143 funds were bullish on Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), down from 162 funds in the quarter earlier. TCI Fund Management owned the leading stake in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) in the third quarter of 2021, with roughly 20 million shares worth $4.4 billion.
Here is what Weitz Investment Management, Inc. has to say about Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) in its Q4 2021 investor letter:
“Reports to investors usually focus on the winners that prove the worthiness of the managers. It’s possible that we’ve been guilty of that on occasion, despite our best efforts to accurately convey what has worked and what hasn’t. This time, though, we are going to celebrate the great businesses we own that “went nowhere” in 2021. In a generally expensive market facing potentially strong headwinds in 2022, we find it very encouraging to own a number of proven winners whose stocks have been “resting” for the last year or so. They will not necessarily save us from markdowns during broad-based corrections, but they are companies that we believe can survive and grow business value through almost anything. They are the kinds of businesses that allow us to sleep well at night and not be tempted to sell at the wrong time. Here are some examples:
Established payments companies have been out of favor recently. Cross-border payments have been depressed with COVID disrupting international travel. These types of payments are particularly lucrative for Visa and their absence has impacted earnings. Further, we believe investors have overestimated the negative competitive impact of new fintech companies that have emerged over the past few years. Many of these “disrupters” depend on the Visa “rails” over which electronic payments travel, and these wily incumbents have a way of acquiring, copying or otherwise competing with upstarts.”
