Engineers Gate Manager LP Cuts Stock Holdings in Visa Inc. $V

Key Points

• Engineers Gate Manager LP cut its Visa stake by 91.8% in the second quarter, selling 108,877 shares and retaining 9,665 shares valued at approximately $3.3 million.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish on Visa, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $416.62. Recent targets range as high as $432.
• Visa reported quarterly revenue growth of 14.4% and earnings above expectations, while shares trade near their 52-week high at a premium valuation. Insiders have also sold shares recently, though one transaction occurred under a pre-arranged trading plan.

Engineers Gate Manager LP trimmed its stake in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) by 91.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,665 shares of the credit-card processor's stock after selling 108,877 shares during the quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP's holdings in Visa were worth $3,316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parvin Asset Management LLC increased its position in Visa by 200.0% during the third quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC now owns 75 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Visa during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Visa in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Visa in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Visa in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.15% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on V shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Visa from $412.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $406.00 target price on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Erste Group Bank raised Visa from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $432.00 price objective (up from $412.00) on shares of Visa in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-four have given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $416.62.

Insider Activity

In other Visa news, General Counsel Julie Rottenberg sold 2,028 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.35, for a total value of $773,377.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 18,404 shares in the company, valued at $7,018,365.40. This represents a 9.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Tullier Mahon sold 57,272 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $364.97, for a total transaction of $20,902,561.84. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 49,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,125,140.14. The trade was a 53.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 106,404 shares of company stock valued at $38,228,528. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Key Visa News

Here are the key news stories impacting Visa this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Blockchain lending opportunity: Visa plans to combine VisaNet settlement data with onchain lending infrastructure, enabling stablecoin-linked card programs and fintechs to obtain working capital more efficiently. Visa reportedly supports more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs, expanding the potential market for settlement financing and related data services. Visa offers data to back onchain lending
• Positive Sentiment: Stablecoin card adoption: MoneyGram launched a virtual stablecoin-backed Visa card in Colombia, allowing customers to spend dollar-linked balances at Visa merchants and access local cash. A planned physical card and additional markets could provide incremental payment volume for Visa. MoneyGram launches Visa stablecoin card
• Positive Sentiment: Positioning for AI-agent commerce: Visa, Mastercard and Ant International are developing a “Know Your Agent” framework to standardize the identification and onboarding of AI agents making purchases. Common verification standards could reduce friction and help Visa capture transaction volume from autonomous commerce. Payment firms team up on AI agent trust framework
• Neutral Sentiment: Growth versus valuation: Visa’s latest quarterly results showed revenue growth of 14.4% and earnings above analyst expectations, supporting the company’s strong fundamental profile. However, the stock trades at a premium earnings multiple, leaving investors focused on whether future growth and margins can justify the valuation. Is Visa stock expensive or waiting on its margin?
• Negative Sentiment: Execution and sentiment risks: Consumer trust remains a hurdle for AI-powered payments, while competing identity standards could complicate merchant adoption. General Counsel Julie Rottenberg also sold shares through a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan; the transaction is not necessarily bearish but adds a modest insider-selling headwind. Visa insider trading activity

Visa Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of V opened at $370.79 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Visa Inc. has a 1-year low of $293.89 and a 1-year high of $385.57. The stock has a market cap of $661.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $365.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $335.26.

Visa (NYSE:V - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The credit-card processor reported $3.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.23 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $11.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.40 billion. Visa had a net margin of 50.78% and a return on equity of 67.68%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.98 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Visa Inc. will post 13.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Visa Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. Visa's payout ratio is currently 22.79%.

Visa Profile

Visa Inc is a global payments technology company that operates one of the world's largest electronic payment networks. The company connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments, enabling transactions through credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payment products. Visa generally does not issue cards, extend credit or set consumer interest rates; instead, it provides the network, technology and services that support payments.

Visa's products and services include Visa-branded cards, digital payment solutions, tokenization, fraud prevention, risk management, data analytics and payment acceptance tools.

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