Metropolis Capital Ltd Purchases 42,457 Shares of Visa Inc. $V

Metropolis Capital Ltd increased its position in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 13.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 368,680 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,457 shares during the quarter. Visa comprises about 3.8% of Metropolis Capital Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Metropolis Capital Ltd’s holdings in Visa were worth $111,430,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in V. Clayton Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Visa by 446.2% during the 4th quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 71 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Parvin Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 50 shares during the period. PayPay Securities Corp boosted its stake in Visa by 102.7% in the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 75 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Cresta Advisors Ltd. bought a new position in Visa in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Dorato Capital Management acquired a new stake in Visa during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 82.15% of the company’s stock.

Key Visa News

Here are the key news stories impacting Visa this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Visa launched Visa Destinations, a global travel platform now live in 10 major markets, designed to engage cardholders earlier in the travel journey and deepen use of Visa’s network through curated experiences and exclusive access. Visa Redefines Its Role in Travel With the Global Launch of Visa Destinations
• Positive Sentiment: Visa expanded Visa Cloud Connect with Mintoak and Thredd in Asia Pacific, which could help fintechs and banks issue cards faster and broaden Visa’s reach in merchant SaaS and cloud-based issuing. Visa (V), Mintoak Partner to Expand Merchant SaaS Offerings Across Asia Pacific
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are highlighting Visa’s new travel push and international expansion efforts as potential future growth drivers, reinforcing the view that Visa can keep monetizing cross-border spending and travel-related activity. Can Visa’s New Travel Play Become Its Next Growth Driver?
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent write-ups on Visa’s travel and partner initiatives are largely descriptive, but they underscore investor focus on whether these new products can meaningfully add to growth over time. Visa Explores Travel Planning Space With Visa Destinations
• Neutral Sentiment: One opinion piece argued Visa could be vulnerable to payment disruption, but it did not include new fundamental data and appears to be more of a long-term risk discussion than a near-term catalyst. Visa: May Be Next On The Disruption Hit List

Visa Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE V opened at $336.96 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $323.36 and its 200-day moving average is $324.29. The stock has a market cap of $604.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.77. Visa Inc. has a twelve month low of $293.89 and a twelve month high of $359.66. 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 (NYSE:V) last released 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. The business had revenue of $11.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.75 billion. Visa had a net margin of 51.68% and a return on equity of 65.00%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.76 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Visa Inc. will post 13.09 EPS for the current year.

Visa declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, April 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit-card processor to buy up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Visa Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 12th. Visa’s dividend payout ratio is 23.34%.

Insider Transactions at Visa

In related news, 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 value of $3,455,653.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 9,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,206,524.32. The trade was a 51.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 31,455 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

V has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $403.00 target price (up from $391.00) on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Visa in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Visa in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $365.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup cut their target price on Visa from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Visa in a report on Thursday, March 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $410.00 target price on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $387.78.

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.