VISA Inc. is updated and rated Weak Buy at $68.68. I have said many times that it has monopoly characteristics to some degree in that most retailers have effectively no choice but to accept its cards and pay the merchant discount fees. And those merchant discount fees are unregulated in most parts of the world. VISA now faces more competition but the extent to which payments are moving away from cash and cheques and towards electronic payments in increasing the size of the market. VISA is expensive at 29 times trailing earnings. But it may not be a bad thing to have some exposure to the stock. I’d be more interested at a lower price.
VISA was added to this web site at the bottom of the financial crisis April 15, 2009 rated Buy at $14.56 (split adjusted price) and has risen 372% since then. It was rated (lower) Strong Buy on May 6, 2011 at $19.85 (split adjusted) and is up 246% since then. Personally, I bought it twice and then sold too early. But it generally continued to be rated a Buy on this site although occasionally only a Weak Buy. It’s been in most of our wallets. It should have been in our portfolios as well, it seems.