Visa Inc. $V Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its Visa stake by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 92,246 shares but still holding more than 12.3 million shares worth about $4.34 billion.
• Visa reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.31 beating estimates and revenue of $11.23 billion topping expectations; revenue rose 17.1% year over year.
• The company also boosted shareholder returns by authorizing a $20 billion share buyback and declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.67 per share, while analyst sentiment remained broadly positive with a consensus Buy rating.

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its position in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,366,667 shares of the credit-card processor's stock after selling 92,246 shares during the period. Visa comprises 1.0% of Legal & General Group Plc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.68% of Visa worth $4,337,114,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Clayton Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Visa by 446.2% in the fourth quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 71 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Visa by 200.0% in the third quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC now owns 75 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 50 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Cresta Advisors Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Visa in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Dorato Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Visa in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 82.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Visa

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 Stock Up 0.1%

Visa stock opened at $329.21 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $312.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $325.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $590.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.68, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.78. Visa Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $293.89 and a fifty-two week high of $375.51.

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

Visa Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Visa's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.34%.

Visa announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, April 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit-card processor to purchase up to 3.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on V. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $389.00 target price on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Visa from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Truist Financial set a $371.00 target price on shares of Visa and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Macquarie Infrastructure restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $410.00 target price on shares of Visa in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $415.00 target price on shares of Visa in a 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $387.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Visa

In other Visa news, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 31,455 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,161,284.36. This represents a 67.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Lloyd Carney sold 650 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.62, for a total value of $201,253.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $829,471.98. This represents a 19.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 42,744 shares of company stock valued at $14,356,010 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

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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