Norges Bank Invests $5.88 Billion in Visa Inc. $V

Key Points

• Norges Bank opened a large new position in Visa, buying about 16.76 million shares valued at roughly $5.88 billion. The stake represents about 0.92% of Visa and is Norges Bank’s 18th-largest holding.
• Wall Street sentiment remains bullish on Visa, with several analysts reiterating or raising targets and an overall average rating of “Buy”. The average price target currently sits at about $386.70, above the stock’s recent trading level.
• Visa reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, while also announcing a $20 billion share buyback and a quarterly dividend of $0.67 per share. Despite some insider selling in recent months, institutional ownership remains very high at 82.15%.

Norges Bank purchased a new position in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 16,759,538 shares of the credit-card processor's stock, valued at approximately $5,877,738,000. Visa makes up 0.6% of Norges Bank's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Norges Bank owned about 0.92% of Visa as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Clayton Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Visa by 446.2% in the fourth quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 71 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. PayPay Securities Corp grew its holdings in Visa by 102.7% in the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 75 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Cresta Advisors Ltd. purchased a new stake in Visa in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Visa by 200.0% in the third quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC now owns 75 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Dorato Capital Management purchased a new stake in Visa in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 82.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on V shares. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Visa in a report on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $410.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Visa from $390.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Visa in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $387.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $389.00 price objective on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $403.00 price objective (up from $391.00) on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $386.70.

Trending Headlines about Visa

Here are the key news stories impacting Visa this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Visa announced an investment in Replit and is exploring payments integration for developers and AI agents, which could open a new channel for “agentic commerce” and future transaction volume. Visa invests in Replit to power agentic payments for developers
• Positive Sentiment: Finix launched access to Visa’s Cybersource gateway, expanding merchant adoption of Visa’s acceptance tools and reinforcing its position in payment infrastructure. Finix Offers Merchants Access to Visa’s Cybersource Gateway
• Positive Sentiment: Visa’s AR and virtual-card integration for commercial payments could accelerate adoption by making B2B payments easier and more automated. Can Visa's New AR Integration Accelerate Virtual Card Adoption?
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary on Visa as a long-term “tollbooth” on spending reinforced the bullish case for durable fee-based cash flows. Visa and Mastercard Still Look Like Long-Term Tollbooths on Spending
• Neutral Sentiment: Visa is getting more investor attention on Zacks, but the note appears to be a watchlist update rather than a new catalyst. Visa Inc. (V) is Attracting Investor Attention: Here is What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Visa’s Pismo unit argued that AI is exposing outdated banking technology, a theme that supports Visa’s modernization message but does not directly change near-term earnings. Visa’s Pismo Says AI Has Exposed Banking’s Old Tech Problem
• Neutral Sentiment: Crypto card spending is rising sharply, and Visa is reportedly capturing much of that flow through partnerships, which may be incremental but is still a relatively small part of the overall business. Crypto card monthly transaction volume surges 230% from 2025
• Negative Sentiment: One Zacks update noted Visa was down modestly since its last earnings report, suggesting some recent momentum has cooled despite the company’s strong fundamentals. Visa (V) Down 2.2% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Rebound?

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lloyd Carney sold 650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 represents a 19.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Chris Suh sold 10,639 shares of the 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. The trade was a 51.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 42,744 shares of company stock worth $14,356,010 over the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Visa Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:V opened at $327.68 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $314.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $325.05. Visa Inc. has a 52 week low of $293.89 and a 52 week 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 has a market cap of $587.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.54, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Visa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 0.8%. Visa's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.34%.

Visa declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan 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 buy up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Visa Company 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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