Global Wealth Strategies & Associates Increases Holdings in Visa Inc. $V

Key Points

• Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its Visa stake by 3,632.3% in the second quarter, ending with 11,682 shares valued at approximately $4.0 million. Institutional investors collectively own 82.15% of Visa.
• Analysts remain bullish on Visa: the stock carries an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $411.77, with several firms recently raising their targets.
• Visa reported better-than-expected quarterly results, including $3.32 in EPS and $11.63 billion in revenue, up 14.4% year over year. The company also authorized a $20 billion share-repurchase plan and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.67 per share.

Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) by 3,632.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,682 shares of the credit-card processor's stock after purchasing an additional 11,369 shares during the quarter. Visa accounts for about 0.8% of Global Wealth Strategies & Associates' holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates' holdings in Visa were worth $4,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Visa during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,877,738,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Visa by 867.6% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 8,213,610 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $2,880,595,000 after buying an additional 7,364,762 shares in the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Visa by 29,706.3% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,332,947 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $2,216,310,000 after buying an additional 7,308,345 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP boosted its position in shares of Visa by 12,497.1% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 3,378,039 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $1,184,712,000 after acquiring an additional 3,351,223 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Visa by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,508,089 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $2,282,472,000 after acquiring an additional 2,116,463 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.15% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

V has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $403.00 target price (up from $391.00) on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Visa from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $420.00 price target (up from $410.00) on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Visa from $412.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-four have issued a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $411.77.

Insider Transactions at Visa

In other Visa news, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 2,027 shares of Visa stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total transaction of $729,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 18,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,625,440. The trade was a 9.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 10,490 shares of the company's 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 completion of 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 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 sold 101,398 shares of company stock worth $35,831,433. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Visa

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

Visa Price Performance

V stock opened at $366.33 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $341.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $325.66. The stock has a market cap of $657.11 billion, a PE ratio of 31.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.74. Visa Inc. has a one year low of $293.89 and a one year high of $373.97. 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 (NYSE:V - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The credit-card processor reported $3.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.98 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Visa Inc. will post 13.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Visa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Visa's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.79%.

Visa declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan 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 purchase up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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