First Merchants Corp Sells 2,830 Shares of Visa Inc. $V

First Merchants Corp lowered its position in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,272 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after selling 2,830 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Visa were worth $23,814,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in V. Woodstock Corp lifted its position in shares of Visa by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 39,364 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $14,145,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Echo45 Advisors LLC boosted its position in Visa by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Echo45 Advisors LLC now owns 1,417 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $509,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in shares of Visa by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 27,509 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $9,885,000 after acquiring an additional 2,310 shares during the period. Eastern Bank grew its holdings in shares of Visa by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 317,425 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $114,060,000 after acquiring an additional 5,692 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Visa by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 310,501 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $106,530,000 after acquiring an additional 30,182 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.15% of the company’s stock.

Visa Trading Up 2.1%

NYSE:V opened at $399.62 on Friday. Visa Inc. has a one year low of $293.89 and a one year high of $403.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $371.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $345.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $713.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.63, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.77.

Visa (NYSE:V) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The credit-card processor reported $3.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $11.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Visa Inc. will post 13.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Visa Announces Dividend

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

Key Headlines Impacting Visa

Here are the key news stories impacting Visa this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Stablecoin payments move into commercial use: Visa Direct’s stablecoin-enabled prefunding service has advanced from pilot programs to production, with Inyo Global becoming the first enabler. The initiative could improve the speed and efficiency of cross-border money movement while creating new transaction opportunities for Visa. Visa Direct Launches Stablecoin-Powered Money Movement as Pilots Move to Production
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and technical momentum: An analyst upgrade helped support Visa’s shares, while technical coverage said the stock remains in a buy zone following a breakout. This suggests continued institutional and momentum-oriented demand. Visa Shares Up on Analyst Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Expanded digital checkout acceptance: Barclaycard Payments is integrating Visa Unified Checkout in the United Kingdom, allowing merchants to accept cards, Click to Pay and digital wallets through a broader checkout solution. This supports Visa’s role across growing digital-payment channels. Barclaycard Payments Integrates Visa Unified Checkout in UK
• Positive Sentiment: China opportunity remains in focus: Visa received approval to prepare for a payments business in China. Although entry hurdles remain, progress in the large Chinese market represents a potentially significant long-term growth opportunity. Visa Wins Approval to Prepare for China Payments Business
• Neutral Sentiment: Visa’s high margins and limited direct credit exposure remain important investment strengths, while its valuation and upcoming fiscal fourth-quarter earnings could determine whether the recent rally is sustainable. Visa Valuation Ahead of Q4 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Stablecoin adoption still faces regulatory, infrastructure and business-use hurdles, while lower interchange fees for some Canadian small businesses may create modest near-term pressure on pricing and revenue growth. Visa Lowers Interchange Fees for Small Businesses

Insider Transactions at Visa

In related news, General Counsel Julie Rottenberg sold 1,867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.34, for a total value of $687,690.78. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 18,404 shares in the company, valued at $6,778,929.36. This represents a 9.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Tullier Mahon sold 57,272 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $364.97, for a total value of $20,902,561.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 49,662 shares in the company, valued at $18,125,140.14. The trade was a 53.56% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 78,792 shares of company stock valued at $28,863,319 in the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

V has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Loop Capital raised their target price on Visa from $387.00 to $404.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Visa from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $432.00 price target (up from $412.00) on shares of Visa in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial set a $406.00 price objective on Visa and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, President Capital raised their price objective on Visa from $411.00 to $474.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and thirty-four have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $426.12.

About Visa

Visa Inc is a global payments technology company that operates one of the world’s largest electronic payments networks. Through its VisaNet platform, the company facilitates the authorization, clearing and settlement of payment transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and governments.

Visa provides payment products and services for credit, debit, prepaid and commercial transactions. Its offerings also include digital payment capabilities, tokenization, fraud prevention, risk management and other value-added services designed to support secure electronic commerce and contactless payments.