Visa Inc. $V Holdings Reduced by Mawer Investment Management Ltd.

Key Points

• Mawer Investment Management cut its Visa stake by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 317,559 shares and leaving it with 2.04 million shares worth about $713.8 million. Visa remained its fifth-largest holding.
• Visa reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.31 beating estimates and revenue rising 17.1% year over year to $11.23 billion. The company also authorized a $20 billion share buyback and paid a quarterly dividend of $0.67 per share.
• Insider selling and analyst sentiment were mixed: CEO Ryan McInerney and CFO Chris Suh both sold shares, while analysts overall still rate Visa a Buy with an average target price of $386.70. The stock was trading around $322.57, below its 52-week high.

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. decreased its stake in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,035,207 shares of the credit-card processor's stock after selling 317,559 shares during the quarter. Visa comprises 4.0% of Mawer Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. owned 0.11% of Visa worth $713,767,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cogent Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Visa during the fourth quarter worth approximately $333,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Visa by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,846 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $601,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas lifted its position in Visa by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 178,748 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $62,792,000 after buying an additional 13,234 shares in the last quarter. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. lifted its position in Visa by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. now owns 6,069 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $2,128,000 after buying an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, COFG Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Visa during the fourth quarter worth approximately $627,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.15% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 31,455 shares of Visa stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.14, for a total value of $10,699,103.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,161,284.36. The trade was a 67.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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 Visa stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.81, for a total value of $3,455,653.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 9,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,206,524.32. The trade was a 51.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,744 shares of company stock valued at $14,356,010. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

V has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Loop Capital initiated coverage on Visa in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. They set a "buy" rating and a $387.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings cut Visa from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $415.00 target price on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Daiwa Securities Group raised Visa from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $370.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Visa in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $365.00 target price for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $386.70.

Visa Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE V opened at $322.57 on Tuesday. Visa Inc. has a twelve month low of $293.89 and a twelve month high of $375.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $315.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $324.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $578.62 billion, a PE ratio of 28.10, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.78.

Visa (NYSE:V - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The credit-card processor reported $3.31 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $11.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.76 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Visa Inc. will post 13.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Visa announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, April 28th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit-card processor to purchase up to 3.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Visa Announces Dividend

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

Key Visa News

Here are the key news stories impacting Visa this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Visa’s long-term business model remains strong because it earns a fee on a huge share of global digital transactions, making it a durable “buy and hold forever” candidate for investors focused on secular growth. American Express vs. Visa: 2 Different Ways to Bet on Premium Consumer Spending
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentators say Visa now screens attractively after a year of weaker performance, suggesting the selloff may have reset the valuation on this high-quality payments franchise. Visa at $326, Mastercard at $493: Buy, Sell or Hold?
• Positive Sentiment: Visa’s recent investment in Replit and its work on AI-driven commerce could help position the company for future payment flows beyond traditional card swipes and tap-to-pay transactions. Visa’s Replit Investment Links AI Agents To Future Commerce Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analyst-focused articles and comparisons with Mastercard and American Express are keeping Visa in the spotlight, but they mainly reinforce the debate over whether the stock is a buy, hold, or relative value play rather than pointing to a clear catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that stablecoin adoption and interchange-related legal pressure could threaten Visa’s long-term economics, contributing to the stock’s recent underperformance versus the broader market. Visa at $326, Mastercard at $493: Buy, Sell or Hold?
• Negative Sentiment: One recent market view argues Visa may trail the equity market going forward, reflecting skepticism that the stock will quickly regain leadership after its recent slump. Visa: Why Trailing The Equity Market Seems The Most Likely Scenario Ahead

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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