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

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al raised its position in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 15.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 391,641 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after buying an additional 51,520 shares during the quarter. Visa comprises about 0.8% of VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. 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 hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Visa by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,975,832 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $56,455,834,000 after buying an additional 1,054,343 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Visa by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 24,792,246 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $8,463,484,000 after purchasing an additional 193,288 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Visa by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,114,674 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $4,475,403,000 after purchasing an additional 530,995 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Visa by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,458,913 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $4,253,224,000 after purchasing an additional 399,845 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Visa by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,913,505 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $4,067,032,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298,435 shares in the last quarter. 82.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on V. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Visa in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Visa from $390.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Piper Sandler set a $160.00 price target on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Visa from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Visa from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $387.67.

Key Visa News

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 Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:V opened at $326.41 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $311.08 and its 200-day moving average is $326.25. 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 $585.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.78.

Visa (NYSE:V) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The credit-card processor reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $11.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.76 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Visa Inc. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Visa Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. Visa’s payout ratio is presently 23.34%.

Visa announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, April 28th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit-card processor to reacquire up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 31,455 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,174 shares in the company, valued at $5,161,284.36. The trade was 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 business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.62, for a total transaction of $201,253.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $829,471.98. This trade represents a 19.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.12% of the stock is owned by 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.