5 Safe Stocks To Buy According To Hedge Funds

02. Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders as of Q2, 2022: 166

Visa Inc. is a leading payment solution provider, with products used by consumers, businesses, and governments worldwide. In terms of its fiscal fourth quarter, payments at Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) grew 10% and processed transactions rose 12%. Sales rose to $7.79 billion from $6.56 billion and the company reported adjusted earnings of $1.93 per share, up 19% year over year. Given its earnings potential, Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) dividend is very secure. As of October 28, Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) shares yield 0.88%. The stock is currently trading at a PE multiple of 27x. Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) has a trailing twelve-month operating margin of 67.48% and free cash flows of $16 billion.

At the close of Q2 2022, 166 hedge funds were long Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) and held stakes worth $24 billion in the company. This is compared to 159 positions in the previous quarter with stakes of $28 billion. As of June 30, TCI Fund Management is the top shareholder in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) and has stakes worth $3.92 billion in the company.

Here is what RiverPark Large Growth Fund has to say about Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) in its Q3 2022 investor letter:

“We reinitiated a small position in Visa, which we had previously owned for years (selling out of the position at higher levels in February). We continue to believe that the long-term secular growth trend towards digital payments remains intact and has been further enhanced by the COVID crisis. The growth in debit cards, contactless payments, e-commerce, and now, buynow-pay-later (BNPL), are all driving digital payment penetration, and we continue to be impressed with the long-term growth potential of V (and our other payment holdings Mastercard, Adyen, and PayPal).”