Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Acquires 1,801 Shares of Visa Inc. $V

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 37.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,581 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,801 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Visa were worth $2,258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in V. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Visa by 58.1% during the 1st quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 4,201 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $1,270,000 after acquiring an additional 1,543 shares during the last quarter. Vega Investment Solutions bought a new position in shares of Visa during the second quarter valued at about $829,000. Beacon Financial Group lifted its position in shares of Visa by 83.9% during the first quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 22,501 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $6,801,000 after purchasing an additional 10,267 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Visa by 43.7% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Investment Management LLC now owns 17,832 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $6,254,000 after purchasing an additional 5,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pincus Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Visa during the fourth quarter worth about $4,278,000. Institutional investors own 82.15% of the company’s stock.

Visa Price Performance

V stock opened at $381.66 on Friday. Visa Inc. has a 12-month low of $293.89 and a 12-month high of $385.57. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $359.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $331.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $681.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.45, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.74.

Visa (NYSE:V) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The credit-card processor reported $3.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.23 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $11.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.40 billion. Visa had a net margin of 50.78% and a return on equity of 67.68%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.98 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Visa Inc. will post 13.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Visa Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Visa news, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 5,875 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.87, for a total value of $2,161,236.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,582,059.38. This trade represents a 27.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 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 completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 18,404 shares in the company, valued at $6,625,440. This trade 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 96,634 shares of company stock valued at $34,537,016. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Visa

Here are the key news stories impacting Visa this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Stablecoin and AI-payment partnership: Visa is working with Dunamu, the operator of South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, to develop stablecoin payments, cross-border remittances, settlement services and AI-powered commerce. The agreement could help Visa build institutional-grade digital-asset payment infrastructure across Asia while connecting cryptocurrency technology with its global network. Upbit operator Dunamu teams up with Visa on stablecoin and AI payments
• Positive Sentiment: Expanded cybersecurity product: Visa upgraded its AI-powered Vulnerability Agentic Harness to identify, remediate and validate cyber vulnerabilities for clients. The broader toolset may strengthen Visa’s value proposition to merchants and financial institutions and support growth in security-related services. Visa Rolls Out AI-Powered Cyber Vulnerability Patching for Clients
• Positive Sentiment: Merchant acceptance expansion: Visa’s partnership with Bluefin combines payment security, transaction routing and device management in a unified card-present platform. The offering could simplify deployment for large merchants, deepen customer relationships and expand Visa’s acceptance solutions. Visa Launches Unified Card Present Payment Platform for Global Merchants
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional endorsement: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square added Visa and Mastercard during a major portfolio overhaul, providing a favorable signal from a prominent long-term investor. Bill Ackman Just Made His Biggest Portfolio Overhaul in Years
• Neutral Sentiment: Visa restored payment-network access in Syria through a live transaction, but Mastercard reportedly reached the market at nearly the same time, limiting any first-mover advantage. Visa Reopens Syria With One Payment and No Monopoly
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation risk: Visa recently reached a record high before giving up the breakout. With shares trading at roughly 32 times earnings, investors may demand continued strong growth, making the stock vulnerable to profit-taking or disappointing execution. Visa Hits Record, Then Surrenders the Breakout

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $412.00 price objective (up from $395.00) on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $430.00 target price on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Truist Financial set a $406.00 target price on Visa and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-four have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $414.54.

Visa 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.