Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Has $61.49 Million Position in Visa Inc. $V

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. reduced its holdings in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 175,327 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after selling 7,455 shares during the quarter. Visa accounts for 0.8% of Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Visa were worth $61,489,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of 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 during the period. Parvin Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Visa by 200.0% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp boosted its position in shares of Visa by 102.7% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 75 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $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 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Dorato Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Visa during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. 82.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Visa

In related news, CFO Chris Suh sold 10,639 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 9,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,206,524.32. This trade represents a 51.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 31,455 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.14, for a total transaction of $10,699,103.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,161,284.36. The trade was a 67.46% 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 42,744 shares of company stock valued at $14,356,010. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $389.00 price objective on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $403.00 price objective (up from $391.00) on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Visa from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 price objective on shares of Visa in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Evercore set a $350.00 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $387.67.

Visa Price Performance

Shares of NYSE V opened at $320.77 on Thursday. Visa Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $293.89 and a fifty-two week high of $375.51. The stock has a market cap of $575.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.94, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $311.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $326.07.

Visa (NYSE:V) last announced 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. Visa had a net margin of 51.68% and a return on equity of 65.00%. The business had revenue of $11.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.76 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Visa Inc. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Visa Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Visa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.34%.

Visa News Summary

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, allowing consumers to choose among payment options at checkout through one card. That supports Visa’s push into more flexible, digital-first payment experiences and could help drive network usage. Visa Flexible Credential Brings More Flexible Ways to Pay to Zilch Cardholders in the UK
• Positive Sentiment: Visa was highlighted in commentary about strong digital payments trends, with analysts pointing to contactless payments, BNPL adoption, and cross-border growth as long-term tailwinds for the financial transaction sector. 5 Financial Transaction Stocks to Watch Amid Digital Advancements
• Positive Sentiment: Visa continues to be viewed as a beneficiary of strong consumer spending and digital payment growth, with another article noting record U.S. consumption as a favorable backdrop for fintech and card networks. U.S. Consumer Spending Tops $21.86T: 5 Fintech Stocks Under $75
• Neutral Sentiment: Visa received additional attention for rolling out tap-based identity verification with Fidelity Bank Bahamas, another sign of product innovation but not necessarily an immediate earnings catalyst. Visa launches tap-based identity verification with Fidelity Bank Bahamas
• Negative Sentiment: Visa CFO Chris Suh sold 10,639 shares at an average price of $324.81, trimming his ownership 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 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.