Voya Investment Management LLC Increases Holdings in The Western Union Company $WU

Voya Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 75,479 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,936 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $799,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 80.2% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,264 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 464.3% during the first quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 3,397 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,795 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 188.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,803 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,483 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union during the 1st quarter worth $96,000. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union during the 1st quarter worth $110,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Union

In other news, CFO Matthew Cagwin bought 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 225,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,886,107.96. The trade was a 8.41% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Devin Mcgranahan acquired 176,470 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.49 per share, for a total transaction of $1,498,230.30. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 913,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,752,431.25. This trade represents a 23.96% 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 0.6%

Western Union stock opened at $8.17 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $8.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.64. The Western Union Company has a 52 week low of $7.89 and a 52 week high of $12.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued 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). The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 66.11%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.44 EPS. Western Union has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. Research analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.5%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on WU shares. Zacks Research upgraded Western Union to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Western Union in a report on Monday, June 2nd. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Western Union from $10.50 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $8.61.

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.