Visa Inc. $V Shares Sold by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,943,636 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after selling 221,471 shares during the quarter. Visa comprises 1.6% of Bessemer Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Visa were worth $1,032,363,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Visa by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,665,453 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $584,219,000 after purchasing an additional 122,070 shares during the last quarter. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension acquired a new position in Visa during the fourth quarter worth approximately $24,984,000. Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. increased its position in Visa by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. now owns 2,289 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $803,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC increased its position in Visa by 24.5% during the fourth quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC now owns 10,099 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $3,285,000 after purchasing an additional 1,987 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Planning Partners Inc. increased its position in Visa by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 11,909 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $4,176,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on V. Truist Financial set a $371.00 price target on shares of Visa and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Visa from $390.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Visa in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $387.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $403.00 price objective (up from $391.00) on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Visa presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $387.67.

More Visa News

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, letting consumers choose among multiple payment options through one card. That supports Visa’s push into more flexible, digital-first payment experiences and could increase network usage. Visa Flexible Credential Brings More Flexible Ways to Pay to Zilch Cardholders in the UK
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted contactless payments, BNPL adoption, and cross-border growth as favorable long-term trends for payment processors like Visa, reinforcing the bullish industry backdrop. 5 Financial Transaction Stocks to Watch Amid Digital Advancements
• Positive Sentiment: Another report pointed to record U.S. consumer spending as a supportive backdrop for fintech and card networks, which can lift Visa’s transaction volumes and fee revenue. U.S. Consumer Spending Tops $21.86T: 5 Fintech Stocks Under $75
• Positive Sentiment: Visa also teamed with FPT AI Factory and InFlow on an agent-native commerce platform, expanding its role in AI-driven commerce and autonomous payments. FPT AI Factory Partners with InFlow and Visa Intelligent Commerce to Launch an Agent-Native Commerce Platform
• Neutral Sentiment: Visa received additional attention for launching tap-based identity verification with Fidelity Bank Bahamas, a product innovation that supports its payments ecosystem but is not likely to move earnings immediately. Visa launches tap-based identity verification with Fidelity Bank Bahamas
• Negative Sentiment: Visa CFO Chris Suh sold 10,639 shares, cutting his direct stake by more than half. Insider selling can weigh on sentiment even if it does not change the company’s fundamentals. SEC Form 4 filing

Visa Price Performance

Visa stock opened at $322.11 on Friday. Visa Inc. has a 52-week low of $293.89 and a 52-week high of $375.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $311.10 and a 200-day moving average of $325.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $577.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.06, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.78. 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 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 company had revenue of $11.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.76 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Visa Inc. will post 13.09 EPS for the current year.

Visa Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Visa’s dividend payout ratio is 23.34%.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Chris Suh sold 10,639 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 9,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,206,524.32. This represents a 51.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lloyd Carney sold 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.62, for a total transaction of $201,253.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $829,471.98. This trade represents a 19.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 42,744 shares of company stock worth $14,356,010. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.