Wellington Management Group LLP Has $1.54 Million Stock Holdings in The Western Union Company $WU

Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 29.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 145,513 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 33,535 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Western Union were worth $1,540,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,018,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 1st quarter valued at about $149,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 45.5% in the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 68,622 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 21,456 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 188.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,803 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,483 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 1st quarter valued at about $124,000. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WU. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $9.00 target price on the stock. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $9.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Western Union in a report on Monday, June 2nd. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their price target on shares of Western Union from $7.50 to $7.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $8.61.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WU opened at $8.67 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $8.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.43. The Western Union Company has a 12-month low of $7.89 and a 12-month high of $12.40. The firm has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a PE ratio of 3.28, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.64. 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 earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.02). Western Union had a return on equity of 66.11% and a net margin of 21.83%.The business had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.44 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Western Union has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Union news, CFO Matthew Cagwin bought 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $8.36 per share, for a total transaction of $146,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 225,611 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,886,107.96. This trade represents a 8.41% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Devin Mcgranahan bought 176,470 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were acquired 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 approximately $7,752,431.25. This represents a 23.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.58% of the company’s stock.

About Western Union

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.