Crown Oak Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Visa Inc.

Crown Oak Advisors LLC has expanded its investment in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to their latest 13F filing with the SEC. After acquiring an additional 2,668 shares, the institutional investor now holds a total of 64,016 shares in Visa, which represents about 10.4% of its total investment portfolio, positioning it as the second-largest holding for Crown Oak Advisors. The value of their investment in Visa was estimated at $20,231,000 at the end of the last quarter.

Activity Among Other Institutional Investors

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also adjusted their positions in Visa Inc. For example, State Street Corp has increased its stake in Visa by 4.5% during the third quarter, bringing its total holdings to 76,610,942 shares valued at approximately $21 billion after purchasing an additional 3,327,977 shares. Similarly, FMR LLC enhanced its position by 6.1%, acquiring a total of 57,111,843 shares worth around $15.7 billion, following the acquisition of an extra 3,265,518 shares. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake by 7.7%, while UBS AM raised its holdings by 1.1%. Additionally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Visa by 6.2%. As a result, institutional investors collectively own 82.15% of Visa’s stock.

Analyst Outlook and Price Targets

Visa Inc. has caught the attention of multiple research analysts lately. Mizuho has adjusted their price target from $279.00 to $292.00, maintaining a "neutral" rating. Bank of America has also raised its target from $314.00 to $331.00. Furthermore, Robert W. Baird increased their price target from $330.00 to $340.00, while Barclays set theirs at $347.00 from a previous $319.00. Deutsche Bank also raised their price target to $340.00 from $300.00, giving the stock a "buy" rating. In total, there have been four hold ratings, 24 buy ratings, and two strong buy ratings, leading to an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $334.58 according to MarketBeat.com.

Visa’s Stock Performance

The stock price of Visa opened at $330.20 on recent trading days. The 50-day simple moving average stands at $314.95, while the 200-day average is $290.42. Visa has seen a 52-week range, with a low of $252.70 and a high of $331.09. Key financial ratios include a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.28, and a quick ratio of 1.28. As for market valuation, Visa boasts a market capitalization of $615.11 billion and a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 33.94.

Recent Earnings and Dividend Announcement

Visa Inc. recently announced its quarterly earnings on October 29th, revealing earnings per share (EPS) of $2.71, surpassing expectations of $2.58 by $0.13. The company recorded a net margin of 54.96% and a return on equity (ROE) of 53.16%. Revenue amounted to $9.62 billion, exceeding forecasts of $9.49 billion, reflecting an 11.7% increase compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Visa will report an EPS of 11.19 for the current fiscal year.

Dividend Increase

In addition, Visa recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, which was paid out on December 2nd to shareholders who were on record by November 12th. This marks an increase from the previous dividend of $0.52 and results in an annualized dividend of $2.36, corresponding to a dividend yield of 0.71% and a payout ratio of 24.25%.

Insider Transactions

In recent insider activity, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 8,620 shares on January 2nd, with the stock sold at an average price of $317.78, totalling $2,739,263.60. Another insider, Paul D. Fabara, sold 2,171 shares on November 22nd at an average price of $307.97, worth $668,602.87. Following this transaction, Fabara’s remaining holdings are valued at $5,510,815.18, which represents a 10.82% decrease in their ownership.

Company Overview

Visa Inc. operates as a leading payment technology company globally. The firm runs VisaNet, a transaction processing network that enables the authorization, clearing, and settlement of payment transactions. Visa provides a variety of products, including credit, debit, and prepaid cards, as well as services such as tap-to-pay, tokenization, and funds delivery solutions. Their offerings also extend to B2B cross-border payment networks and a range of value-added services aimed at fraud prevention and data analytics.

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