Visa hikes dividend by 6.7%

Payments technology company Visa Inc. (V) will raise its quarterly dividend by 6.7 percent to 32 cents per share in 2020. This follows a 20.0 percent hike to $0.30 per share announced in 2019 and also marks the 12th consecutive year of dividend increases by V, one of the biggest US Companies based on market cap.

The next dividend is payable on December 1, 2020, to all holders of record as of November 13, 2020. The new annual dividend of $1.08 per share yields 0.7% at a stock price of $181.71. For Visa it is the first time in 11 years that the dividend is not raised by double digits.

Last year the company announced a 20 percent dividend hike with a 16.7 percent increase announced in 2015 as the smallest increase by Visa on record. The company has a current market cap of $387 billion and wil pay an estimated annual dividend of $2.7 billion after this new dividend hike.

Visa Inc., is a payments technology company enabling electronic payments for consumers, businesses, banks and governments worldwide. The company's transaction processing network, VisaNet, enables authorization, clearing, and settlement of payment transactions and provides financial institution and merchant clients with a range of products, platforms, and value-added services. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit, or set rates and fees for account holders on Visa products. Its financial institution clients are responsible for managing account holder and merchant relationships. The company has paid a quarterly dividend every year since 2008. Visa was added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index in 2013.