Rathbones Group PLC Reduces Position in Visa Inc. $V

Rathbones Group PLC reduced its position in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,173,298 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after selling 74,250 shares during the quarter. Visa comprises about 3.8% of Rathbones Group PLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Visa were worth $959,097,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Clayton Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Visa by 446.2% during 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 holdings in Visa by 102.7% during the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 75 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Cresta Advisors Ltd. bought a new stake in Visa during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Visa by 200.0% in the 3rd quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC now owns 75 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Dorato Capital Management purchased a new position in Visa in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 82.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $412.00 price objective (up from $395.00) on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Visa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $420.00 target price (up from $410.00) on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Visa from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Visa from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $411.77.

Key Stories Impacting Visa

Here are the key news stories impacting Visa this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong earnings continue to support the stock. Visa reported fiscal third-quarter EPS of $3.32, above the $3.23 consensus, while revenue reached $11.63 billion, up 14.4% year over year and ahead of expectations. The results reinforce confidence in payment-volume growth and Visa’s high-margin business model. Visa Trading Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “Overweight” rating, while BMO Capital Markets, JPMorgan and Robert W. Baird forecast additional price appreciation. One fair-value estimate rose from $398.83 to $411.63, reflecting optimism about payment volumes, value-added services and potential stablecoin-related products. Visa Stock Sees Modest Fair Value Lift
• Positive Sentiment: Restructuring could improve efficiency. Visa plans to eliminate roughly 2,600 jobs, or about 7% of its workforce, as artificial intelligence and other technology reshape operations. Although the cuts may create near-term charges, investors could view lower long-term costs and greater productivity favorably. Visa Layoffs Will Cut 7 Percent of Its Workforce
• Neutral Sentiment: Competitive developments bear watching. X Money launched with a Visa debit card, peer-to-peer transfers and 3% cashback, potentially generating transaction activity for Visa while also intensifying competition in digital payments and consumer wallets. Elon Musk Aims at Venmo With One Bold Perk
• Negative Sentiment: Job cuts may raise execution and sentiment concerns. The scale of the layoffs highlights Visa’s efforts to adapt to AI-driven changes and could unsettle employees or investors if restructuring disrupts growth initiatives. Visa Slashes Thousands of Jobs in Efficiency Push

Visa Stock Performance

Shares of V opened at $366.33 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $341.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $325.66. The stock has a market cap of $657.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.74. Visa Inc. has a one year low of $293.89 and a one year high of $373.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Visa (NYSE:V) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The credit-card processor reported $3.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.23 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $11.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.40 billion. Visa had a net margin of 50.78% and a return on equity of 67.68%. Visa’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.98 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Visa Inc. will post 13.12 EPS for the current year.

Visa Dividend Announcement

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

Visa declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 28th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit-card processor to reacquire up to 3.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 20,970 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.25, for a total value of $7,135,042.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,174 shares in the company, valued at $5,162,953.50. The trade was a 58.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total transaction of $729,720.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 18,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,625,440. This represents a 9.92% decrease in their position. 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 sold 101,398 shares of company stock valued at $35,831,433 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.