Saratoga Research & Investment Management Cuts Stock Position in Visa Inc. $V

Key Points

• Saratoga Research & Investment Management reduced its Visa stake by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 4,899 shares and leaving it with 111,697 shares valued at about $39.2 million.
• Visa reported a strong quarter, with EPS of $3.31 beating estimates and revenue of $11.23 billion topping expectations; revenue rose 17.1% year over year.
• Analysts remain generally bullish, with Visa holding an average Buy rating and a consensus price target of $387.67, even as some recent insider sales and a share repurchase plan drew attention.

Saratoga Research & Investment Management lowered its holdings in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 111,697 shares of the credit-card processor's stock after selling 4,899 shares during the period. Visa comprises 2.1% of Saratoga Research & Investment Management's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Saratoga Research & Investment Management's holdings in Visa were worth $39,173,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in V. Clayton Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Visa by 446.2% during the 4th quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 71 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp lifted its position in shares of Visa by 102.7% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 75 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Cresta Advisors Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Visa during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Visa by 200.0% during the 3rd quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC now owns 75 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dorato Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Visa during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.15% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on V. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Visa in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $365.00 price target on the stock. Evercore set a $350.00 target price on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Loop Capital assumed coverage on Visa in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. They set a "buy" rating and a $387.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on Visa in a report on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $410.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Visa from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $387.67.

Visa Stock Performance

NYSE:V opened at $325.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. Visa Inc. has a 52-week low of $293.89 and a 52-week high of $375.51. The firm has a market cap of $583.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.35, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.78. The business's fifty day moving average is $311.20 and its 200 day moving average is $325.89.

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

Visa Dividend Announcement

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

Visa declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program 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 programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Trending Headlines about Visa

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

Insider Activity at Visa

In related news, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 31,455 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 67.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Chris Suh sold 10,639 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.81, for a total value of $3,455,653.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 9,872 shares in the company, valued at $3,206,524.32. This represents a 51.87% 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. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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