The Western Union Company $WU Shares Purchased by Morningstar Investment Management LLC

Morningstar Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 22.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,077 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,989 shares during the quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $135,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Western Union by 5.8% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,217,217 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $139,838,000 after acquiring an additional 728,138 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Western Union by 16.4% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,041,493 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $136,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,835,062 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Western Union by 1.6% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,175,171 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $75,913,000 after acquiring an additional 110,902 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Western Union by 1.8% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,765,064 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $60,994,000 after acquiring an additional 103,332 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Western Union by 27.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,964,972 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $20,789,000 after acquiring an additional 422,715 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WU has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on Western Union from $10.50 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Zacks Research raised Western Union from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Western Union from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reduced their target price on Western Union from $7.50 to $7.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $10.00 price target on Western Union in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $8.50.

Insider Transactions at Western Union

In related news, CEO Devin Mcgranahan acquired 176,470 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.49 per share, for a total transaction of $1,498,230.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 913,125 shares in the company, valued at $7,752,431.25. This trade represents a 23.96% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Matthew Cagwin acquired 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.36 per share, with a total value of $146,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 225,611 shares in the company, valued at $1,886,107.96. This represents a 8.41% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.58% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of WU stock opened at $8.29 on Wednesday. The Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $7.85 and a fifty-two week high of $12.02. The stock has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.02). Western Union had a net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 66.11%. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.44 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Union has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.61%.

Western Union Company Profile

The Western Union Company provides money movement and payment services worldwide. The company operates through Consumer Money Transfer and Consumer Services segments. The Consumer Money Transfer segment facilitates money transfers for international cross-border and intra-country transfers, primarily through a network of retail agent locations, as well as through websites and mobile devices.