Visa Inc. $V Shares Sold by HS Management Partners LLC

Key Points

• HS Management Partners LLC cut its Visa stake by 34.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 19,290 shares and leaving it with 36,285 shares valued at about $12.7 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 82.15% of Visa’s stock, and several firms increasing their positions during the period.
• Visa’s latest results and shareholder returns were strong: the company beat earnings and revenue estimates, raised its quarterly dividend to $0.67 per share, and authorized a $20 billion stock buyback.

HS Management Partners LLC lessened its position in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) by 34.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,285 shares of the credit-card processor's stock after selling 19,290 shares during the period. Visa comprises 2.7% of HS Management Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. HS Management Partners LLC's holdings in Visa were worth $12,726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of V. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Visa by 50.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 20,635 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $6,522,000 after purchasing an additional 6,883 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Visa by 68.9% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 11,811 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $3,733,000 after purchasing an additional 4,817 shares during the period. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. grew its holdings in Visa by 4.6% in the first quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 10,941 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $3,834,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the period. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY grew its holdings in Visa by 16.9% in the second quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY now owns 1,133 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its holdings in Visa by 13.8% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 18,367 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $6,521,000 after purchasing an additional 2,230 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.15% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

V has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Visa in a report on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Visa in a report on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $410.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Visa from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Visa in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $365.00 target price for the company. Six 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $387.67.

More Visa News

Here are the key news stories impacting Visa this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Visa is expanding its push into digital payments by testing stablecoin settlement in Canada and advancing AI-enabled “agentic commerce” tools, which could support long-term transaction growth and keep the company relevant as payment methods evolve. Visa Tests Stablecoin Settlement And AI Commerce To Shape Future Fees
• Positive Sentiment: Visa’s partnership with Trip.com to target digital-first travelers in Asia-Pacific adds another growth avenue in travel spending, a high-volume category that can boost payment network activity. Visa and Trip.com Partner to Reach Digital-First Travelers in Asia-Pacific
• Neutral Sentiment: Several reports framed Visa as a long-term beneficiary of crypto and blockchain adoption, but these pieces were more thesis-driven than near-term catalysts for the stock. Crypto and Blockchain Stocks Positioned for Long-Term Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Visa continues to receive favorable analyst coverage, with brokerages assigning an average “Buy” rating, which supports sentiment but does not appear to be a new catalyst. Visa Inc. Receives Average Recommendation of "Buy" from Brokerages
• Negative Sentiment: Visa is facing renewed regulatory scrutiny in the U.K. and Europe, where authorities are pushing for more fee transparency and alternative payment options, raising the risk of pressure on card-network fees and market power. Should Visa & Mastercard Investors Worry About UK & Europe's Moves?
• Negative Sentiment: The UK Payments Systems Regulator also proposed new reporting rules for Visa and Mastercard after saying the two networks do not face effective competition, reinforcing concerns about tighter oversight. UK PSR proposes new reporting rules for Mastercard and Visa
• Negative Sentiment: Visa’s own fraud warnings highlight a rising threat from AI-powered scams and criminal targeting of consumers, which could increase compliance and security costs even if the company is helping defend against the problem. Visa Says Criminals Target People as Core Payment Security Tightens

Visa Price Performance

V opened at $329.21 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Visa Inc. has a 52-week low of $293.89 and a 52-week high of $375.51. The company has a 50 day moving average of $312.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $325.42. The company has a market cap of $590.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.78.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.21. Visa had a net margin of 51.68% and a return on equity of 65.00%. The company had revenue of $11.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.76 earnings per share. Visa's revenue for the quarter was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Visa Inc. will post 13.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Visa Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be paid 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 payout ratio is currently 23.34%.

Visa declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase 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 repurchase up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Visa news, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 31,455 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,174 shares in the company, valued at $5,161,284.36. The trade was a 67.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold a total of 42,744 shares of company stock worth $14,356,010 over the last ninety days. 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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