Visa (NYSE:V) Stock Price Up 1.6% – Still a Buy?

Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)’s stock price rose 1.6% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $325.18 and last traded at $323.9920. Approximately 9,582,546 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 23% from the average daily volume of 7,778,723 shares. The stock had previously closed at $318.79.

Key Stories Impacting Visa

Here are the key news stories impacting Visa this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Visa expanded its Flexible Credential offering in the U.K. with Zilch and Thredd, allowing consumers to choose among payment options at checkout through one card. That supports Visa’s push into more flexible, digital-first payment experiences and could help drive network usage. Visa Flexible Credential Brings More Flexible Ways to Pay to Zilch Cardholders in the UK
• Positive Sentiment: Visa was highlighted in commentary about strong digital payments trends, with analysts pointing to contactless payments, BNPL adoption, and cross-border growth as long-term tailwinds for the financial transaction sector. 5 Financial Transaction Stocks to Watch Amid Digital Advancements
• Positive Sentiment: Visa continues to be viewed as a beneficiary of strong consumer spending and digital payment growth, with another article noting record U.S. consumption as a favorable backdrop for fintech and card networks. U.S. Consumer Spending Tops $21.86T: 5 Fintech Stocks Under $75
• Neutral Sentiment: Visa received additional attention for rolling out tap-based identity verification with Fidelity Bank Bahamas, another sign of product innovation but not necessarily an immediate earnings catalyst. Visa launches tap-based identity verification with Fidelity Bank Bahamas
• Negative Sentiment: Visa CFO Chris Suh sold 10,639 shares at an average price of $324.81, trimming his ownership by more than half. Insider selling can weigh on sentiment, even if it does not change the company’s fundamentals. SEC Form 4 filing

Analysts Set New Price Targets

V has been the topic of several recent research reports. Macquarie Infrastructure restated an “outperform” rating and set a $410.00 target price on shares of Visa in a report on Friday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Visa in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $365.00 target price on the stock. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Visa in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. They set a “buy” rating and a $387.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 target price on shares of Visa in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Visa from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $387.67.

Visa Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $575.39 billion, a PE ratio of 27.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.78. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $311.08 and its 200-day moving average is $326.07.

Visa (NYSE:V) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $11.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.76 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Visa Inc. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Visa Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors 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 payout ratio is 23.34%.

Visa announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, April 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit-card processor to reacquire up to 3.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Visa

In other news, CFO Chris Suh sold 10,639 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 9,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,206,524.32. The trade was a 51.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Lloyd Carney sold 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.62, for a total transaction of $201,253.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $829,471.98. The trade was a 19.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,744 shares of company stock valued at $14,356,010. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Visa

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Clayton Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Visa by 446.2% in the 4th quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 71 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp grew 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Cresta Advisors Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Visa during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Visa by 200.0% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, Dorato Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Visa during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 82.15% of the company’s stock.

Visa Company 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.