Dougherty & Associates LLC Takes $1.55 Million Position in Visa Inc. $V

Key Points

• Dougherty & Associates LLC opened a new position in Visa during the fourth quarter, buying 4,422 shares worth about $1.55 million. Visa now represents roughly 1.4% of the firm’s portfolio and is its 22nd-largest holding.
• Visa reported strong quarterly results, posting $3.31 EPS on revenue of $11.23 billion, both above analyst estimates. Revenue rose 17.1% year over year, and the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.67 per share plus a $20 billion share buyback authorization.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with Visa carrying an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $387.67. Institutional ownership is high at 82.15%, though several insiders, including the CEO, recently sold shares.

Dougherty & Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,422 shares of the credit-card processor's stock, valued at approximately $1,551,000. Visa comprises approximately 1.4% of Dougherty & Associates LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position 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 increased its position in Visa by 68.9% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 11,811 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $3,733,000 after purchasing an additional 4,817 shares in the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. increased its position in Visa by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 10,941 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $3,834,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY increased its position in Visa by 16.9% during the 2nd quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY now owns 1,133 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its position in Visa by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 18,367 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $6,521,000 after purchasing an additional 2,230 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.15% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on V shares. Freedom Capital upgraded Visa from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 16th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Visa in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Piper Sandler set a $160.00 price objective on Visa in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 price objective on shares of Visa in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $403.00 price objective (up from $391.00) on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $387.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Visa news, Director Lloyd Carney sold 650 shares of Visa stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.62, for a total transaction of $201,253.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $829,471.98. The trade was a 19.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 31,455 shares of Visa stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.14, for a total value of $10,699,103.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,174 shares in the company, valued at $5,161,284.36. The trade was a 67.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 42,744 shares of company stock valued at $14,356,010. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Visa News

Here are the key news stories impacting Visa this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Trump said he urged China to open its credit card market more to Visa, raising hopes for future international growth if market access improves. Reuters related coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Visa is expanding digital identity and card activation tools, while also launching AI-powered fan intelligence capabilities, reinforcing its innovation and product-growth story. Visa Links Tap Identity And AI Fan Data To Its Growth Story
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted strong spending trends and digital payments adoption, which generally support transaction volume for Visa’s network. Credit Card Charges Show This Glaring Divergence With The Economy
• Neutral Sentiment: Visa CFO Chris Suh sold shares in a disclosed insider transaction, which may slightly pressure sentiment but does not change the company’s operating outlook. SEC Form 4 filing
• Negative Sentiment: Separate news about delays in U.S. green-card processing and Hungary’s visa-worker policy are mostly unrelated to Visa Inc.’s business and should have limited direct impact on the stock. US Delays Green Card Processing For Indians In Key Visa Categories

Visa Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of V stock opened at $325.42 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $583.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.78. Visa Inc. has a twelve month low of $293.89 and a twelve month high of $375.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $311.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $325.74.

Visa (NYSE:V - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The credit-card processor reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $11.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.75 billion. Visa had a return on equity of 65.00% and a net margin of 51.68%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.76 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Visa Inc. will post 13.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Visa Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Visa's payout ratio is presently 23.34%.

Visa declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, April 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes 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.

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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