North Star Asset Management Inc. Takes Position in Visa Inc. $V

North Star Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 141,145 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock, valued at approximately $48,425,000. Visa makes up 1.9% of North Star Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of V. G&S Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Visa by 4.0% during the second quarter. G&S Capital LLC now owns 761 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Visa by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,189 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $1,094,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. NerdWallet Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Visa by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. NerdWallet Wealth Partners LLC now owns 695 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Frederick Financial Consultants LLC raised its stake in Visa by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Frederick Financial Consultants LLC now owns 1,598 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $560,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel lifted its holdings in Visa by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 6,096 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $2,138,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.15% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Visa

Here are the key news stories impacting Visa this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Visa expanded its AI-powered Vulnerability Agentic Harness to identify, remediate and validate cyber vulnerabilities for clients. The broader cybersecurity offering could strengthen Visa’s value proposition to merchants and financial institutions. Visa Rolls Out AI-Powered Cyber Vulnerability Patching for Clients
• Positive Sentiment: Visa and Bluefin launched a unified card-present payments platform combining acceptance, security and device management. The solution may simplify deployments, reduce compliance burdens and deepen Visa’s relationships with enterprise merchants. Visa Launches Unified Card Present Payment Platform
• Positive Sentiment: Visa completed a live payment transaction in Syria after reopening network access, creating a potential future growth opportunity in an underserved market. Visa Reopens Syria With One Payment and No Monopoly
• Positive Sentiment: Visa’s BLOOM initiative and stablecoin-related efforts could improve cross-border settlement, payment interoperability and digital-payment efficiency over time. Will Visa’s BLOOM Initiative Give It an Edge in Digital Payments?
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary remains constructive, citing Visa’s revenue and earnings momentum and the possibility of continued growth into 2027. However, these views largely reinforce an already-recognized investment thesis rather than provide a new earnings catalyst. Why Visa Stock Could Keep Growing Into 2027
• Negative Sentiment: Mastercard reportedly reached Syria almost simultaneously with Visa, limiting the exclusivity and near-term competitive advantage of Visa’s market reopening. Visa Reopens Syria With One Payment and No Monopoly
• Negative Sentiment: Visa recently touched a record high before surrendering the breakout. With the stock trading at a premium valuation, investors may be taking profits and demanding stronger incremental catalysts to support further gains. Visa Hits Record, Then Surrenders the Breakout

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $430.00 price target (up from $394.00) on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $420.00 price objective (up from $410.00) on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Visa in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $420.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $432.00 target price (up from $412.00) on shares of Visa in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Visa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-four have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Visa currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $414.54.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 5,875 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.87, for a total transaction of $2,161,236.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,582,059.38. The trade was a 27.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 2,027 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total value of $729,720.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 18,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,625,440. This represents a 9.92% 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. Insiders sold 96,634 shares of company stock valued at $34,537,016 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Visa Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:V opened at $379.23 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $676.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.25, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $357.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $331.08. Visa Inc. has a 12-month low of $293.89 and a 12-month high of $385.57.

Visa (NYSE:V) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The credit-card processor reported $3.32 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $11.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.98 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Visa Inc. will post 13.16 EPS for the current year.

Visa Announces Dividend

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

About Visa

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.