Kentucky Retirement Systems Trims Position in Visa Inc. $V

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its position in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 60.7% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 42,044 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after selling 64,895 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Visa were worth $12,707,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Visa during the fourth quarter worth about $5,877,738,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its stake in shares of Visa by 867.6% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 8,213,610 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $2,880,595,000 after buying an additional 7,364,762 shares during the period. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Visa by 29,706.3% in the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,332,947 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $2,216,310,000 after buying an additional 7,308,345 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its holdings in shares of Visa by 12,497.1% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 3,378,039 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $1,184,712,000 after buying an additional 3,351,223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Visa by 48.2% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,508,089 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $2,282,472,000 after buying an additional 2,116,463 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.15% of the company’s stock.

Visa Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE V opened at $369.69 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The business’s 50 day moving average is $339.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $325.38. Visa Inc. has a 52-week low of $293.89 and a 52-week high of $373.97. The firm has a market cap of $663.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.44, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.75.

Visa (NYSE:V) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The credit-card processor reported $3.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $11.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.40 billion. Visa had a return on equity of 66.68% and a net margin of 50.78%.The company’s revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.98 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Visa Inc. will post 13.12 EPS for the current year.

Visa Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. Visa’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.34%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on V shares. Erste Group Bank upgraded Visa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Visa from $387.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Visa from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $412.00 price target (up from $395.00) on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $430.00 price objective on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $411.00.

Visa News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Visa this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Results exceeded expectations: Visa reported adjusted earnings of $3.32 per share versus the $3.23 consensus and revenue of $11.63 billion, up 14.4% year over year. Payments volume surpassed $4 trillion, while cross-border activity, processed transactions and resilient consumer spending supported double-digit growth. Visa Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates on Cross-Border Volume Strength
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised price targets: JPMorgan increased its target to $450, Baird to $420, BMO to $405 and Cantor Fitzgerald maintained an overweight rating with a $410 target. The revisions reflect confidence in Visa’s fundamentals and continued payment growth. Visa Analyst Forecasts
• Positive Sentiment: Growth initiatives remain active: Management highlighted AI-enabled commerce, stablecoin settlement, Visa Direct, commercial payments and value-added services as longer-term growth opportunities. The launch of X Money with a Visa-branded debit card could provide additional network activity. Visa Outlines Stablecoin Strategy
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder return: Visa declared a quarterly dividend of $0.67 per share, payable September 1 to shareholders of record August 11. Visa Dividend Announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Workforce restructuring: Visa plans to eliminate approximately 2,600 jobs, or 7% of its workforce, mainly in technology and product operations. The cuts may reduce costs and fund AI, stablecoin and B2B investments, but also signal a significant organizational transition. Visa Slashes Thousands of Jobs
• Negative Sentiment: Margin and valuation concerns: Shares faced pressure after the earnings release as investors focused on higher operating expenses and potential margin compression. Some analysts also view Visa’s premium valuation—roughly 26 times forward earnings—as limiting near-term upside. Visa Stock and Margin Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Market backdrop: A sharp oil-price increase tied to escalating U.S.-Iran tensions and uncertainty ahead of the Federal Reserve’s rate decision pressured major equity indexes, creating a broader headwind for Visa’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Visa

In other Visa news, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 10,490 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.99, for a total transaction of $3,608,455.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,174 shares in the company, valued at $5,219,704.26. This represents a 40.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 on 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 directly owned 18,404 shares in the company, valued at $6,625,440. This represents a 9.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 44,126 shares of company stock valued at $14,928,871. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.