Visa Inc. (V)

It is near 25 year highs and trades at record levels. He sees more pressure coming from other forms of payment, to their margins. It was a great company to have in the past but he would not to continue to hold it.

A quarter-trillion market cap. Grew revenues at 13% YOY and earnings 24% YOY. It continues to grow, the grandaddy of payment companies. It trades in the high-$20's, so not cheap, but this company walks the walk. (Analysts' price target: $148.24)

One of the growth names in the financials. Paying a growth multiple higher. Broad global exposure. The only risk is the evolution in the payment business. Is it going to be disruptive? The price would hold him back to own a large position in the name.

This and MasterCard are both great businesses. What really drives their business is connectivity through cards. Recession is still a few years away so this one can be bought on dips.

A payments company. In the last 6-9 months they purchased the Euro portion of this company. We are seeing more and more payments of this kind occurring. Payment systems are being embraced globally. Visa and Master card are clearly winning.

Owns Mastercard instead. But the charts look similar. All you do is jump in. With a long base, if you believe in the company, you’re not sure when it’s going to pop, but when it does, off it goes. Blip earlier this year ties back to the markets. This trend is going higher. VISA has made a new high, compared to the market, which has not.

Mastercard (MA-N ) vs. VISA (V-N). Owns Mastercard instead of VISA. But the charts look similar. All you do is jump in. With a long base, if you believe in the company, you’re not sure when it’s going to pop, but when it does, off it goes. VISA has made a new high, compared to the market, which has not.

Visa (V-N) or Mastercard (MA-N)? Likes the electronic payment space. Cash and cheques are still the predominant form of payment in many countries, so there’s lots of runway, even in developed markets. Bought Visa a couple of years ago and is happy to keep holding it. Benefits of buying Visa Europe will come through this year in terms of integration. There are opportunities for both companies in terms of market share -- no reason to switch from one to the other.

Visa is an incredibly stable cash machine. They take on no credit risk. They are a transaction company. 1.9 Trillion transactions last year and they are still growing in the high teens in earnings. More and more we are carrying plastic. Visa in Europe is still growing a lot.

It's done extremely well and has enjoyed an upward channel. You want to buy below the middle of this up channel. They have a fantastic franchise, and he doesn't see them losing their market stranglehold.

He prefers Visa to MasterCard. He prefers other financial service companies to either Visa or MasterCard because of the high valuation of both stocks but he would buy on a significant pullback.

Should I buy American Express (AXP-N) or VISA (V-N)? It is like asking if I should buy an ice-cream for my daughter or my son. Ownes both. Basically, toll booth for global spending. There is still more cash out there than plastic out there believe it or not. American Express (AXP-N) seems a little cheaper from a valuation stand point. Amex is a little more value oriented, VISA is a little more growth oriented. Keep both.

This was the perfect kind of company to buy in the last recession but it has had a terrific gain and, for a contrarian, it might be time to sell.

(A Top Pick Mar 2/18, Up 9%) What's not to love about a world that continues to get digitized? This stays in your portfolio for a very long time.

She's done well with this over many years. It's currently near its highs. It's a core holding as society transitions into digital transactions (i.e. online shopping). You can take a bit of profit here, but she expects a lot of growth in digital going forward, that we're still in the early days of digital transactions. Visa bought Visa Europe late last year, so expect earnings contributions from this. This stock will grind higher.