Visa Inc. $V Holdings Lifted by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 13.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,550,065 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after purchasing an additional 310,906 shares during the period. Visa accounts for about 1.6% of Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned about 0.14% of Visa worth $874,902,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cresta Advisors Ltd. acquired a new stake in Visa during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 last quarter. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Visa during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Visa during the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, RHL Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Visa in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. 82.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $460.00 target price (up from $435.00) on shares of Visa in a research report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Visa from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Visa in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $420.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $416.00 price objective on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $414.54.

Visa News Roundup

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

Visa Price Performance

Visa stock opened at $381.66 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $359.07 and a 200-day moving average of $331.43. Visa Inc. has a 52-week low of $293.89 and a 52-week high of $385.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $681.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.45, a PEG ratio of 2.03 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.23 by $0.09. Visa had a net margin of 50.78% and a return on equity of 67.68%. The business had revenue of $11.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.98 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Visa Inc. will post 13.16 EPS for the current year.

Visa Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Visa

In other news, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 5,875 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.87, for a total value of $2,161,236.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total value of $729,720.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 18,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,625,440. The trade was a 9.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 96,634 shares of company stock valued at $34,537,016 over 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.