Schroder Investment Management Group Purchases 4,321,604 Shares of The Western Union Company $WU

Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 48.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,240,037 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,321,604 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group owned approximately 4.10% of Western Union worth $111,481,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WU. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 0.4% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,275,287 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $111,778,000 after buying an additional 58,070 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Western Union by 16.4% during the 1st 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. Discerene Group LP grew its position in Western Union by 55.1% during the 2nd quarter. Discerene Group LP now owns 10,366,558 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $87,286,000 after acquiring an additional 3,684,366 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Western Union by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,175,171 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $75,913,000 after purchasing an additional 110,902 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 103,332 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Western Union from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Western Union from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. UBS Group raised their target price on Western Union from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on Western Union from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $8.70.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Giovanni Angelini bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $8.95 per share, for a total transaction of $89,500.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 186,932 shares in the company, valued at $1,673,041.40. This trade represents a 5.65% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.58% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of WU opened at $8.76 on Friday. The Western Union Company has a 1-year low of $7.85 and a 1-year high of $11.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $8.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.83, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.61.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.04. Western Union had a net margin of 18.80% and a return on equity of 60.85%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. Western Union’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Western Union has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

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.