VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Purchases 51,520 Shares of Visa Inc. $V

Key Points

• VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al increased its Visa stake by 15.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 51,520 additional shares to bring its total holdings to 391,641 shares worth about $137.4 million.
• Visa reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.31 beating estimates of $3.10 and revenue of $11.23 billion topping forecasts; revenue also rose 17.1% year over year.
• The company announced a $20 billion share repurchase program and a quarterly dividend of $0.67 per share, implying an annualized yield of 0.8%.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted its position in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) by 15.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 391,641 shares of the credit-card processor's stock after acquiring an additional 51,520 shares during the quarter. Visa accounts for approximately 0.8% of VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al's holdings in Visa were worth $137,352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Visa by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,975,832 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $56,455,834,000 after acquiring an additional 1,054,343 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in Visa by 0.8% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 24,792,246 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $8,463,484,000 after acquiring an additional 193,288 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Visa by 4.2% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,114,674 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $4,475,403,000 after acquiring an additional 530,995 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Visa by 3.3% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,458,913 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $4,253,224,000 after acquiring an additional 399,845 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Visa by 12.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,913,505 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $4,067,032,000 after acquiring an additional 1,298,435 shares in the last quarter. 82.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Visa Price Performance

Shares of V opened at $326.41 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $585.50 billion, a PE ratio of 28.43, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.78. The company's 50-day moving average is $311.08 and its 200-day moving average is $326.25. Visa Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $293.89 and a fifty-two week high of $375.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Visa (NYSE:V - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The credit-card processor reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $11.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.75 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.76 earnings per share. Visa's revenue for the quarter was up 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Visa Inc. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Visa declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program 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 repurchase up to 3.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Visa Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Visa

In related news, Director Lloyd Carney sold 650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.62, for a total transaction of $201,253.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $829,471.98. This trade represents a 19.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 31,455 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,161,284.36. This represents a 67.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on V. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Visa in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Visa in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $410.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Visa from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Visa currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $387.67.

Visa News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Visa this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Visa launched and expanded several new partnerships, including Visa Flexible Credential with Zilch and Thredd in the UK, and tap-based identity verification / Tap to Confirm tools with Fidelity Bank Bahamas and Keyno, underscoring continued innovation and adoption of Visa’s network. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Visa’s collaboration with FPT AI Factory and InFlow to launch an agent-native commerce platform adds another sign that the company is positioning itself for AI-driven purchasing and automated payments. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary and industry reports continue to frame digital payments as a long-term growth area, but these pieces are more about the broader sector than a direct new financial catalyst for Visa. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: News that Brazilian payments network Elo may pursue a U.S. IPO is a competitive development in payments, but it does not appear to be a near-term threat to Visa’s scale or network leadership. Article Title

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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