Visa Inc (NYSE:V) has experienced some drama of late, but a select group of investors you need to watch think that there’s more gains in store.
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Equally as key, optimistic insider trading activity is another way to look at the investments you’re interested in. As the old adage goes: there are lots of stimuli for an executive to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if piggybackers know what to do (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, we’re going to study the newest info about Visa Inc (NYSE:V).
What have hedge funds been doing with Visa Inc (NYSE:V)?
In preparation for the third quarter, a total of 91 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 3% from the first quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings significantly.
Out of the hedge funds we follow, John H. Scully’s SPO Advisory Corp had the largest position in Visa Inc (NYSE:V), worth close to $677.5 million, comprising 9.1% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Harris Associates, managed by Natixis Global Asset Management, which held a $649.6 million position; the fund has 1.4% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedgies that are bullish include Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management, John Armitage’s Egerton Capital Limited and Andreas Halvorsen’s Viking Global.
As industrywide interest increased, certain money managers have jumped into Visa Inc (NYSE:V) headfirst. SPO Advisory Corp, managed by John H. Scully, assembled the largest position in Visa Inc (NYSE:V). SPO Advisory Corp had 677.5 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management also initiated a $628.8 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new V positions are John Armitage’s Egerton Capital Limited, Andreas Halvorsen’s Viking Global, and Rob Citrone’s Discovery Capital Management.
How have insiders been trading Visa Inc (NYSE:V)?
Bullish insider trading is at its handiest when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest six-month time period, Visa Inc (NYSE:V) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 4 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
We’ll also review the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Visa Inc (NYSE:V). These stocks are Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK), Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS), Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISV), Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO), and Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA). This group of stocks belong to the business services industry and their market caps resemble V’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) | 27 | 0 | 9 |
| Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS) | 34 | 0 | 4 |
| Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISV) | 22 | 0 | 3 |
| Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) | 35 | 1 | 8 |
| Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) | 72 | 0 | 7 |
Using the returns explained by our tactics, average investors must always keep one eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Visa Inc (NYSE:V) is no exception.
