How The Under-The-Radar CEO Succession At Visa Went Down

Deutsche Bank's Bryan Keane maintains a Buy rating on shares of Visa Inc (NYSE: V) with an unchanged $103 price target following the company's announcement of a CEO change.

Visa said after Monday's market close that CEO Charlie Scharf will step down and be replaced with Alfred Kelly, a current Visa board member and former president of American Express Company (NYSE: AXP).

Keane noted that while the CEO change was unexpected, early feedback indicates that Kelly was well regarded at American Express. Moreover, Kelly has a deep knowledge of the credit card industry and is already very familiar with Visa, given his service on the board for two years.

Related Link: Visa Says Charlie Scharf Out As CEO; Alfred Kelly Named Replacement

Keane added that Visa's roster of senior executives will also aid in a smooth transition.

When Kelly takes over as CEO, Keane is expecting his top priorities to be: 1) ensuring Visa remains a terrific partner for all partners in the payment ecosystem, 2) continue focusing on digital initiatives and 3) attracting and maintaining top talent.

Kelly is also expected to travel a lot across Europe to ensure a smooth integration of its recently acquired Visa Europe and will also visit China often to take advantage of the emerging growth opportunities.

Bottom line, Visa's fundamentals remain robust, and there are no changes to the company's outlook. As such, the analyst recommends investors add to their positions on any pullback in the stock.

At last check, Visa was down 0.32 percent at $81.89.

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