Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Sells 1,948,428 Shares of Visa Inc. $V

Key Points

• Arrowstreet Capital slashed its Visa position by 99.1%. The firm sold 1,948,428 shares during the first quarter and retained 17,617 shares worth approximately $5.3 million.
• Visa reported better-than-expected quarterly results. Earnings per share came in at $3.32 versus the $3.23 consensus, while revenue rose 14.4% year over year to $11.63 billion.
• Investors continue to receive shareholder-return support. Visa declared a quarterly dividend of $0.67 per share and maintains a $20 billion share-repurchase authorization, while analysts’ consensus rating remains “Buy” with a $411.77 price target.

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership cut its position in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) by 99.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 17,617 shares of the credit-card processor's stock after selling 1,948,428 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership's holdings in Visa were worth $5,325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Visa by 50.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 20,635 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $6,522,000 after purchasing an additional 6,883 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Visa by 68.9% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 11,811 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $3,733,000 after buying an additional 4,817 shares in the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. raised its position in Visa by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 10,941 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $3,834,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY raised its position in Visa by 16.9% in the 2nd quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY now owns 1,133 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its stake in Visa by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 18,367 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $6,521,000 after acquiring an additional 2,230 shares in the last quarter. 82.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Visa Price Performance

Shares of V opened at $366.33 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $341.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $325.66. Visa Inc. has a 1-year low of $293.89 and a 1-year high of $373.97. The company has a market cap of $657.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.15, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.74.

Visa (NYSE:V - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The credit-card processor reported $3.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.09. Visa had a net margin of 50.78% and a return on equity of 67.68%. The firm had revenue of $11.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.98 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Visa Inc. will post 13.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Visa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. Visa's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.79%.

Visa declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 28th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit-card processor to repurchase up to 3.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Visa from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $435.00 price objective (up from $430.00) on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $410.00 price objective on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $416.00 price objective on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and set a $430.00 target price on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-four have issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $411.77.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 2,027 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total value of $729,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 18,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,625,440. This trade represents a 9.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 10,490 shares of Visa stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.99, for a total value of $3,608,455.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,219,704.26. The trade was a 40.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 101,398 shares of company stock valued at $35,831,433 in the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Visa News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Visa this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong earnings continue to support the stock. Visa reported fiscal third-quarter EPS of $3.32, above the $3.23 consensus, while revenue reached $11.63 billion, up 14.4% year over year and ahead of expectations. The results reinforce confidence in payment-volume growth and Visa’s high-margin business model. Visa Trading Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “Overweight” rating, while BMO Capital Markets, JPMorgan and Robert W. Baird forecast additional price appreciation. One fair-value estimate rose from $398.83 to $411.63, reflecting optimism about payment volumes, value-added services and potential stablecoin-related products. Visa Stock Sees Modest Fair Value Lift
• Positive Sentiment: Restructuring could improve efficiency. Visa plans to eliminate roughly 2,600 jobs, or about 7% of its workforce, as artificial intelligence and other technology reshape operations. Although the cuts may create near-term charges, investors could view lower long-term costs and greater productivity favorably. Visa Layoffs Will Cut 7 Percent of Its Workforce
• Neutral Sentiment: Competitive developments bear watching. X Money launched with a Visa debit card, peer-to-peer transfers and 3% cashback, potentially generating transaction activity for Visa while also intensifying competition in digital payments and consumer wallets. Elon Musk Aims at Venmo With One Bold Perk
• Negative Sentiment: Job cuts may raise execution and sentiment concerns. The scale of the layoffs highlights Visa’s efforts to adapt to AI-driven changes and could unsettle employees or investors if restructuring disrupts growth initiatives. Visa Slashes Thousands of Jobs in Efficiency Push

About Visa

Visa Inc is a global payments technology company that facilitates electronic funds transfers and digital commerce by connecting consumers, merchants, financial institutions and governments. The firm operates one of the world's largest payment networks, providing processing, authorization, clearing and settlement services for credit, debit and prepaid card transactions. Visa's network-based model enables partner banks and other issuers to offer branded payment products while Visa focuses on the infrastructure, standards and technologies that move money securely and efficiently around the world.

Visa's product and service portfolio includes card-based payment products for consumers and businesses, real-time push-payment capabilities, tokenization and authentication services, fraud and risk-management tools, data analytics and APIs for fintech and merchant integration.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding V? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.