Meridian Financial Partners LLC Acquires 1,987 Shares of Visa Inc. $V

Meridian Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 24.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,099 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,987 shares during the quarter. Visa accounts for approximately 1.3% of Meridian Financial Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Meridian Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Visa were worth $3,285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of V. Clayton Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Visa by 446.2% in the 4th quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 71 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp lifted its position in shares of Visa by 102.7% during the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 75 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Cresta Advisors Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Visa during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dorato Capital Management purchased a new position in Visa during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 82.15% of the company’s stock.

Visa Price Performance

V opened at $322.11 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $577.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.06, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $311.10 and a 200 day moving average of $325.89. 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 fifty-two week low of $293.89 and a fifty-two week high of $375.51.

Visa (NYSE:V) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The credit-card processor reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $11.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.75 billion. Visa had a net margin of 51.68% and a return on equity of 65.00%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.76 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Visa Inc. will post 13.09 EPS for the current year.

Visa Announces Dividend

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

Visa declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 28th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in 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 a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $389.00 price target on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Visa in a report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Visa from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Visa from $390.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $387.67.

Insider Activity at Visa

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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lloyd Carney sold 650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.62, for a total transaction of $201,253.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $829,471.98. The trade was a 19.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,744 shares of company stock worth $14,356,010. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Visa

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

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.