Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Sells 4,389 Shares of Visa Inc. $V

Key Points

• Mesirow Financial Investment Management reduced its Visa stake by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 4,389 shares and leaving it with 78,530 shares worth about $27.5 million.
• Visa reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $3.31 on revenue of $11.23 billion, both above analyst estimates, with revenue up 17.1% year over year.
• The company also authorized a $20 billion share buyback and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.67 per share, while analysts maintained an overall Buy consensus and a target price of $387.67.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,530 shares of the credit-card processor's stock after selling 4,389 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Visa were worth $27,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Clayton Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Visa by 446.2% during the 4th quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 71 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Visa by 200.0% during the 3rd quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC now owns 75 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp boosted its stake in Visa by 102.7% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 75 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Cresta Advisors Ltd. bought a new position in Visa during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Dorato Capital Management bought a new position in Visa during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 82.15% of the company's stock.

Visa Stock Performance

Shares of V stock opened at $320.77 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $575.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.78. The company's 50 day moving average price is $311.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $326.07. Visa Inc. has a 52 week low of $293.89 and a 52 week high of $375.51.

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 net margin of 51.68% and a return on equity of 65.00%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.76 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Visa Inc. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Visa announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, April 28th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit-card processor to purchase up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. Visa's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Visa news, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 31,455 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.14, for a total transaction of $10,699,103.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,161,284.36. This trade represents a 67.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 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 $829,471.98. This trade represents a 19.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 42,744 shares of company stock worth $14,356,010. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on V shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Visa from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Truist Financial set a $371.00 price objective on shares of Visa and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Visa from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $387.67.

Key Headlines Impacting Visa

Here are the key news stories impacting Visa this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Visa expanded its Flexible Credential offering in the U.K. with Zilch and Thredd, allowing consumers to choose among payment options at checkout through one card. That supports Visa’s push into more flexible, digital-first payment experiences and could help drive network usage. Visa Flexible Credential Brings More Flexible Ways to Pay to Zilch Cardholders in the UK
• Positive Sentiment: Visa was highlighted in commentary about strong digital payments trends, with analysts pointing to contactless payments, BNPL adoption, and cross-border growth as long-term tailwinds for the financial transaction sector. 5 Financial Transaction Stocks to Watch Amid Digital Advancements
• Positive Sentiment: Visa continues to be viewed as a beneficiary of strong consumer spending and digital payment growth, with another article noting record U.S. consumption as a favorable backdrop for fintech and card networks. U.S. Consumer Spending Tops $21.86T: 5 Fintech Stocks Under $75
• Neutral Sentiment: Visa received additional attention for rolling out tap-based identity verification with Fidelity Bank Bahamas, another sign of product innovation but not necessarily an immediate earnings catalyst. Visa launches tap-based identity verification with Fidelity Bank Bahamas
• Negative Sentiment: Visa CFO Chris Suh sold 10,639 shares at an average price of $324.81, trimming his ownership by more than half. Insider selling can weigh on sentiment, even if it does not change the company’s fundamentals. SEC Form 4 filing

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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