Visa Inc. $V Shares Sold by Country Trust Bank

Country Trust Bank lessened its stake in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 3.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 241,376 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after selling 9,450 shares during the quarter. Visa comprises about 1.8% of Country Trust Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Country Trust Bank’s holdings in Visa were worth $82,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sonoma Allocations LLC bought a new stake in Visa during the third quarter worth approximately $710,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Visa by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,241,348 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $438,196,000 after purchasing an additional 21,401 shares during the period. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Visa by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,588 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $564,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Visa by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 95,150 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $33,783,000 after buying an additional 5,295 shares during the period. Finally, Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Visa during the second quarter valued at about $862,000. 82.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Visa News

Here are the key news stories impacting Visa this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Crypto card spending is surging: TipRanks reports crypto-card transactions have reached $18 billion, with Visa positioned as a market leader in digital payments — this supports revenue upside from card volume and new product adoption. V, BTC, USDC: Crypto Card Spending Hits $18 Billion
• Positive Sentiment: Visa expands stablecoin capabilities: BVNK will power stablecoin pre‑funding and payouts on Visa Direct, enabling faster settlement for crypto-linked programs and broadening Visa’s settlement rails. This is a product expansion that can increase fee-bearing volume. BVNK to Power Stablecoin Payments for Visa Direct
• Positive Sentiment: Growing stablecoin settlement volumes: Visa says stablecoin-linked payment cards are driving demand and its stablecoin settlement run-rate has climbed to roughly $4.5 billion annualized — a small but fast-growing new revenue stream. Visa Says Stablecoin-Linked Payments Cards Drive Demand for Settlement Platform
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst consensus remains constructive: Brokerages have issued a consensus “Buy” on Visa, supporting investor confidence and likely limiting downside from short-term news. Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages
• Neutral Sentiment: Opinion pieces highlight long-term thesis: The Motley Fool and MarketBeat/Market commentary revisit Visa as a long-term compounder (and note last year’s underperformance), keeping it on buy-and-hold radars but offering limited near-term catalyst news. Could Buying Visa Stock Today Set You Up for Life?
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal risk in the U.K.: The High Court ruled the U.K. Payment Systems Regulator can cap cross‑border interchange fees, a decision that could compress Visa’s fee revenue on certain transactions in a material market if caps are implemented. This is the main near-term headwind. Mastercard, Visa and Revolut lose UK case over proposed cross-border card fees cap

Visa Price Performance

Shares of V stock opened at $328.41 on Friday. Visa Inc. has a 1 year low of $299.00 and a 1 year high of $375.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $339.41 and its 200-day moving average is $343.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $598.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.17, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.81.

Visa (NYSE:V) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The credit-card processor reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.01. Visa had a net margin of 50.15% and a return on equity of 60.31%. The firm had revenue of $10.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.71 EPS. Visa’s revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Visa Inc. will post 11.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Visa Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Visa’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 12th. Visa’s payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

Insider Activity at Visa

In other Visa news, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 10,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $341.00, for a total transaction of $3,575,385.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $183,117. This represents a 95.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lloyd Carney sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.48, for a total transaction of $302,832.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,468 shares in the company, valued at $830,432.64. This trade represents a 26.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 24,042 shares of company stock worth $8,247,289 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on V shares. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Visa in a research report on Tuesday. HSBC upgraded shares of Visa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $335.00 to $389.00 in a research report on Sunday, December 7th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 target price on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Erste Group Bank downgraded Visa from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised Visa from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $382.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $402.52.

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.