Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Has $123.69 Million Stock Holdings in Visa Inc. $V

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 360,504 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,249 shares during the quarter. Visa comprises approximately 1.5% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Visa were worth $123,685,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cresta Advisors Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Visa during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Visa by 200.0% during the third quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC now owns 75 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Visa in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Visa during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, RHL Group LLC acquired a new stake in Visa in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 82.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Visa from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $427.00 target price (up from $410.00) on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $445.00 target price on shares of Visa and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $406.00 price target on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $412.00 target price (up from $395.00) on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $414.54.

Key Stories Impacting Visa

Here are the key news stories impacting Visa this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Stablecoin and AI-payment partnership: Visa is working with Dunamu, the operator of South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, to develop stablecoin payments, cross-border remittances, settlement services and AI-powered commerce. The agreement could help Visa build institutional-grade digital-asset payment infrastructure across Asia while connecting cryptocurrency technology with its global network. Upbit operator Dunamu teams up with Visa on stablecoin and AI payments
• Positive Sentiment: Expanded cybersecurity product: Visa upgraded its AI-powered Vulnerability Agentic Harness to identify, remediate and validate cyber vulnerabilities for clients. The broader toolset may strengthen Visa’s value proposition to merchants and financial institutions and support growth in security-related services. Visa Rolls Out AI-Powered Cyber Vulnerability Patching for Clients
• Positive Sentiment: Merchant acceptance expansion: Visa’s partnership with Bluefin combines payment security, transaction routing and device management in a unified card-present platform. The offering could simplify deployment for large merchants, deepen customer relationships and expand Visa’s acceptance solutions. Visa Launches Unified Card Present Payment Platform for Global Merchants
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional endorsement: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square added Visa and Mastercard during a major portfolio overhaul, providing a favorable signal from a prominent long-term investor. Bill Ackman Just Made His Biggest Portfolio Overhaul in Years
• Neutral Sentiment: Visa restored payment-network access in Syria through a live transaction, but Mastercard reportedly reached the market at nearly the same time, limiting any first-mover advantage. Visa Reopens Syria With One Payment and No Monopoly
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation risk: Visa recently reached a record high before giving up the breakout. With shares trading at roughly 32 times earnings, investors may demand continued strong growth, making the stock vulnerable to profit-taking or disappointing execution. Visa Hits Record, Then Surrenders the Breakout

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Tullier Kelly Mahon sold 57,272 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $364.97, for a total transaction of $20,902,561.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 49,662 shares in the company, valued at $18,125,140.14. This represents a 53.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 2,027 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total transaction of $729,720.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 18,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,625,440. This trade represents a 9.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 96,634 shares of company stock worth $34,537,016 in the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Visa Stock Performance

NYSE:V opened at $381.66 on Friday. Visa Inc. has a twelve month low of $293.89 and a twelve month high of $385.57. The stock has a market cap of $681.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.45, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $359.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $331.43.

Visa (NYSE:V) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The credit-card processor reported $3.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.09. Visa had a net margin of 50.78% and a return on equity of 67.68%. The business had revenue of $11.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.98 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Visa Inc. will post 13.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Visa Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Visa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.79%.

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.