Bay Capital Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of Visa Inc.

During the fourth quarter, Bay Capital Advisors LLC made a notable move by purchasing a new stake in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report). According to their latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the institutional investor acquired 3,182 shares of this leading credit-card processor. The total value of this purchase is estimated at around $1,006,000. This investment accounts for approximately 0.8% of Bay Capital Advisors LLC's overall portfolio, positioning Visa as the 29th largest holding within their investment strategy.

In addition to Bay Capital's activities, several other hedge funds have also adjusted their positions in Visa over the same quarter. For instance, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. entered a new investment in Visa, valued at around $26,000, while Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC established a position worth about $27,000. Furthermore, POM Investment Strategies LLC expanded its holding by 48.5%, bringing its total to 98 shares valued at approximately $31,000 after buying an additional 32 shares. Meanwhile, Modus Advisors LLC also bought into Visa, with a position valued at $32,000. Similarly, Compass Planning Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Visa, which was worth $32,000 as well. It's noteworthy that institutional investors collectively hold around 82.15% of Visa's stock.

Analyst Ratings

A variety of research analysts have recently provided insights on Visa. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on the stock in a note dated February 13th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Visa from a "hold" to a "strong-buy" on January 14th. Citigroup maintained a "neutral" rating on February 13th, while Raymond James raised their target price from $374.00 to $393.00, emphasizing their "outperform" rating in a report on January 31st. Additionally, UBS Group increased its target price on Visa to $400.00 from $350.00, also giving it a "buy" rating. Overall, six analysts rate the stock as a hold, twenty-three recommend it as a buy, and one gives it a strong buy rating, leading to an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $353.96, as per MarketBeat.com.

Visa's Stock Performance

As of Tuesday, Visa's stock opened at $343.96. The company boasts a robust market capitalization of $639.00 billion with a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 34.67. The stock's PEG ratio stands at 2.33, and it has a beta of 0.95, indicating a relatively stable stock performance compared to market highs and lows. Currently, Visa’s fifty-day moving average is $341.23, with a 200-day moving average at $313.75. The company’s quick and current ratios are both recorded at 1.12, while its debt-to-equity ratio sits at 0.45. Over the past year, Visa has experienced a low of $252.70 and a high of $366.54.

Visa's Recent Earnings

The latest quarterly earnings report from Visa was released on January 30th, revealing an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.75 for the quarter, which surpassed analysts' expectations of $2.66 by $0.09. The company's return on equity is an impressive 54.79%, and it has a net margin of 54.27%. Analysts predict that Visa will achieve an EPS of 11.3 for the ongoing fiscal year.

Dividend Information

In recent news, Visa announced a quarterly dividend payment, which was issued on March 3rd. Shareholders on record as of February 11th received a dividend payout of $0.59 per share. This translates to an annualized dividend of $2.36, indicating a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was set for February 11th, and Visa's current payout ratio stands at 23.79%.

Insider Trading Activity

There has been significant insider activity at Visa recently. On February 7th, CAO Peter M. Andreski sold 2,332 shares at an average price of $349.62, totaling approximately $815,313.84. Following this transaction, he owns 4,488 shares in the company, reflecting a value close to $1,569,094.56, representing a 34.19% decrease in his holdings. Additionally, insider Tullier Kelly Mahon sold 33,741 shares on the same day at an average price of $349.77, resulting in a transaction worth approximately $11,801,589.57, which reduced their ownership by 47.99%. During the last quarter, insiders sold a total of 143,205 shares valued at around $48,560,961, and currently, insiders hold about 0.13% of the company's stock.

About Visa Inc.

Visa Inc. is a prominent payment technology company operating both in the United States and internationally. The firm manages VisaNet, a transaction processing network that facilitates the authorization, clearance, and settlement of payment transactions. Visa also provides a variety of products and services, including credit, debit, and prepaid cards; tap-to-pay technologies; tokenization; and click-to-pay services. Other offerings include Visa Direct, which helps in delivering funds to eligible cards and digital wallets, along with Visa B2B Connect for cross-border business payments. The company also provides comprehensive solutions aimed at fraud prevention, data analytics, dispute management, and more.

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