Choate Investment Advisors Purchases 2,221 Shares of Visa Inc. $V

Choate Investment Advisors lifted its position in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 105,761 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,221 shares during the quarter. Visa makes up 0.7% of Choate Investment Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in Visa were worth $37,092,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Visa by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,975,832 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $56,455,834,000 after acquiring an additional 1,054,343 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Visa by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 24,792,246 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $8,463,484,000 after acquiring an additional 193,288 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Visa by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,114,674 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $4,475,403,000 after acquiring an additional 530,995 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Visa by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,458,913 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $4,253,224,000 after acquiring an additional 399,845 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Visa by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,913,505 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $4,067,032,000 after acquiring an additional 1,298,435 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

V has been the subject of several analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $385.00 target price on Visa in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded Visa from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Visa in a research note on Friday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Visa in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $365.00 target price for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $389.00 target price on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $387.67.

Visa Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE V opened at $329.21 on Monday. Visa Inc. has a 52 week low of $293.89 and a 52 week high of $375.51. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $312.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $325.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $590.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.78.

Visa (NYSE:V) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The credit-card processor reported $3.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $11.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.75 billion. Visa had a return on equity of 65.00% and a net margin of 51.68%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.76 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Visa Inc. will post 13.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Visa Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. Visa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.34%.

Visa announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, April 28th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit-card processor to reacquire up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Key Headlines Impacting Visa

Here are the key news stories impacting Visa this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Visa is expanding its push into digital payments by testing stablecoin settlement in Canada and advancing AI-enabled “agentic commerce” tools, which could support long-term transaction growth and keep the company relevant as payment methods evolve. Visa Tests Stablecoin Settlement And AI Commerce To Shape Future Fees
• Positive Sentiment: Visa’s partnership with Trip.com to target digital-first travelers in Asia-Pacific adds another growth avenue in travel spending, a high-volume category that can boost payment network activity. Visa and Trip.com Partner to Reach Digital-First Travelers in Asia-Pacific
• Neutral Sentiment: Several reports framed Visa as a long-term beneficiary of crypto and blockchain adoption, but these pieces were more thesis-driven than near-term catalysts for the stock. Crypto and Blockchain Stocks Positioned for Long-Term Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Visa continues to receive favorable analyst coverage, with brokerages assigning an average “Buy” rating, which supports sentiment but does not appear to be a new catalyst. Visa Inc. Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages
• Negative Sentiment: Visa is facing renewed regulatory scrutiny in the U.K. and Europe, where authorities are pushing for more fee transparency and alternative payment options, raising the risk of pressure on card-network fees and market power. Should Visa & Mastercard Investors Worry About UK & Europe’s Moves?
• Negative Sentiment: The UK Payments Systems Regulator also proposed new reporting rules for Visa and Mastercard after saying the two networks do not face effective competition, reinforcing concerns about tighter oversight. UK PSR proposes new reporting rules for Mastercard and Visa
• Negative Sentiment: Visa’s own fraud warnings highlight a rising threat from AI-powered scams and criminal targeting of consumers, which could increase compliance and security costs even if the company is helping defend against the problem. Visa Says Criminals Target People as Core Payment Security Tightens

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lloyd Carney sold 650 shares of Visa stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.62, for a total transaction of $201,253.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $829,471.98. This trade represents a 19.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 31,455 shares of Visa stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.14, for a total value of $10,699,103.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 15,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,161,284.36. This trade represents 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 90 days, insiders sold 42,744 shares of company stock worth $14,356,010. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.