Credit card giant Visa (V) has raised its quarterly dividend payment to stockholders by 13% as it reported better-than-expected third-quarter financial results.
Going forward, Visa will pay a quarterly distribution of $0.59 U.S. per share. That’s up from $0.52 U.S. previously and will push the yield on the dividend closer to 1%.
This is the 16th consecutive year that Visa has raised its dividend payout to shareholders. The latest increase comes as Visa reports strong Q3 results.
The company announced earnings per share (EPS) of $2.71 U.S., which topped the consensus forecast of $2.58 U.S.
The company’s Q3 revenue of $9.62 billion U.S. beat consensus expectations that called for sales of $9.49 billion U.S. Sales increased 12% from a year earlier.
Visa said that its payments volume during Q3 grew 8% year-over-year, beating forecasts of 6.8%. Growth in cross-border payment volumes and processed transactions were also strong.
The latest earnings from Visa arrive as the company deals with an antitrust lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Justice Department has accused Visa of illegally operating a monopoly in the debit card market and unfairly suppressing competition.
The company has disputed the charges and vowed to fight the lawsuit.
Visa’s stock is up 2% on news of its latest print. Prior to today (Oct. 30), Visa’s stock had risen 9% this year and was trading at $281.88 U.S. per share.
