Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd Trims Stock Position in Visa Inc. $V

Key Points

• Catalyst Funds Management cut its Visa stake by 43.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 3,840 shares and ending with 4,960 shares valued at about $1.74 million.
• Several other hedge funds were actively increasing their Visa positions, and institutional investors now own 82.15% of the company, signaling continued strong interest from large money managers.
• Visa reported a strong quarter with EPS of $3.31 and revenue of $11.23 billion, both beating expectations, while its board also authorized a $20 billion share buyback.

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd lessened its position in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) by 43.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,960 shares of the credit-card processor's stock after selling 3,840 shares during the period. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd's holdings in Visa were worth $1,740,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in V. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Visa by 110.4% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,954,937 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $1,396,930,000 after acquiring an additional 2,075,289 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Visa by 286.4% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,526,026 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $862,335,000 after acquiring an additional 1,872,362 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Visa by 121.7% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,022,411 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $1,059,990,000 after acquiring an additional 1,658,954 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Visa in the 3rd quarter worth $565,684,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Visa by 73.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,197,405 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $1,091,528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,353,441 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.15% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Chris Suh sold 10,639 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.81, for a total transaction of $3,455,653.59. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 9,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,206,524.32. This trade represents a 51.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lloyd Carney sold 650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.62, for a total transaction of $201,253.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $829,471.98. This trade represents a 19.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,744 shares of company stock worth $14,356,010. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Visa News

Here are the key news stories impacting Visa this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Visa is expanding its push into digital payments by testing stablecoin settlement in Canada and advancing AI-enabled “agentic commerce” tools, which could support long-term transaction growth and keep the company relevant as payment methods evolve. Visa Tests Stablecoin Settlement And AI Commerce To Shape Future Fees
• Positive Sentiment: Visa’s partnership with Trip.com to target digital-first travelers in Asia-Pacific adds another growth avenue in travel spending, a high-volume category that can boost payment network activity. Visa and Trip.com Partner to Reach Digital-First Travelers in Asia-Pacific
• Neutral Sentiment: Several reports framed Visa as a long-term beneficiary of crypto and blockchain adoption, but these pieces were more thesis-driven than near-term catalysts for the stock. Crypto and Blockchain Stocks Positioned for Long-Term Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Visa continues to receive favorable analyst coverage, with brokerages assigning an average “Buy” rating, which supports sentiment but does not appear to be a new catalyst. Visa Inc. Receives Average Recommendation of "Buy" from Brokerages
• Negative Sentiment: Visa is facing renewed regulatory scrutiny in the U.K. and Europe, where authorities are pushing for more fee transparency and alternative payment options, raising the risk of pressure on card-network fees and market power. Should Visa & Mastercard Investors Worry About UK & Europe's Moves?
• Negative Sentiment: The UK Payments Systems Regulator also proposed new reporting rules for Visa and Mastercard after saying the two networks do not face effective competition, reinforcing concerns about tighter oversight. UK PSR proposes new reporting rules for Mastercard and Visa
• Negative Sentiment: Visa’s own fraud warnings highlight a rising threat from AI-powered scams and criminal targeting of consumers, which could increase compliance and security costs even if the company is helping defend against the problem. Visa Says Criminals Target People as Core Payment Security Tightens

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

V has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Visa in a report on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $410.00 price target for the company. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Visa from $390.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Visa in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $387.00 price target for the company. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Visa from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $415.00 price target on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $387.67.

Visa Stock Performance

NYSE:V opened at $329.21 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $312.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $325.42. Visa Inc. has a twelve month low of $293.89 and a twelve month high of $375.51. The company has a market capitalization of $590.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.78.

Visa (NYSE:V - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The credit-card processor reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $11.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.75 billion. Visa had a net margin of 51.68% and a return on equity of 65.00%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.76 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Visa Inc. will post 13.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Visa announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, April 28th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit-card processor to reacquire up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Visa Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Visa's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.34%.

Visa Profile

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.

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