Visa Inc. $V Shares Sold by Westfield Capital Management Co. LP

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP trimmed its position in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 14.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 603,926 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after selling 101,841 shares during the period. Visa makes up about 0.9% of Westfield Capital Management Co. LP’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP’s holdings in Visa were worth $211,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Invariant Investment Management acquired a new stake in Visa in the 4th quarter valued at $969,000. 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 purchasing an additional 1,054,343 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in Visa by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 527,530 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $180,088,000 after purchasing an additional 23,863 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Visa by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,884,879 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $984,840,000 after purchasing an additional 60,198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savvy Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Visa by 30.1% in the 4th quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 28,922 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $10,143,000 after purchasing an additional 6,688 shares in the last quarter. 82.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

V has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $403.00 price target (up from $391.00) on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Visa in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $410.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Visa from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $415.00 price objective on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $389.00 price objective on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $387.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Chris Suh sold 10,639 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $3,206,524.32. This represents a 51.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lloyd Carney sold 650 shares of the 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 sale, the director owned 2,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $829,471.98. This trade represents a 19.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 42,744 shares of company stock worth $14,356,010 over the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Visa News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Visa this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Visa announced a collaboration with Brale to explore private stablecoin settlement for institutional payments, reinforcing its blockchain and faster-settlement strategy. Visa and Brale Explore Private Stablecoin Settlement for Institutional Payments
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Visa, Stripe, and Mastercard may back a stablecoin platform sparked optimism that Visa could benefit from cheaper, faster cross-border settlement and stay ahead of payment innovation. Report: Payments Giants Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe Back Stablecoin Platform for Faster Payments
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentary noted that the stablecoin pilot could create meaningful long-term benefits if successful, helping explain why the stock has been trending higher. Why Visa Stock Topped the Market on Thursday
• Neutral Sentiment: Visa also announced senior leadership appointments in Asia Pacific to support value-added services and Southeast Asia growth, a strategic but not immediate earnings driver. Visa Announces Asia Pacific Leadership Appointments to Scale Value-Added Services and Southeast Asia Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage on “pay-by-bank” and other payment alternatives raises competitive questions, but the articles suggest awareness and trust remain limited for now, so the threat to Visa looks incremental rather than immediate. Pay-by-Bank Is Quietly Gaining Ground. Should Card Network Visa Investors Worry?
• Negative Sentiment: Visa’s payment services were reported suspended in Cuba amid expanded U.S. sanctions, which is a small geographic headwind but not likely a major stock driver. Visa and Mastercard services suspended in tourist destination popular with Canadians

Visa Stock Performance

Shares of V stock opened at $320.06 on Friday. 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 one year low of $293.89 and a one year high of $375.51. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $316.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $324.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $574.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.88, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.77.

Visa (NYSE:V) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The credit-card processor reported $3.31 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 business had revenue of $11.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.76 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Visa Inc. will post 13.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Visa Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Visa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.34%.

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

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.