The Western Union Company $WU Stock Position Reduced by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lessened its position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 1.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 236,841 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,395 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue owned about 0.07% of Western Union worth $1,993,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Novem Group bought a new position in Western Union during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $769,000. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA bought a new position in Western Union during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $84,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Western Union by 2,225.8% during the 2nd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 5,675 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 5,431 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Western Union during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $703,000. Finally, Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Western Union by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 771,550 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,496,000 after buying an additional 30,230 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Western Union

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on WU. Barclays set a $8.00 target price on Western Union and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $10.00 price target on Western Union in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Western Union from $10.50 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on Western Union from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Union presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $8.50.

Western Union Stock Down 0.1%

WU opened at $8.08 on Friday. The Western Union Company has a 12 month low of $7.85 and a 12 month high of $12.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $8.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.04.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.02). Western Union had a net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 66.11%. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.44 earnings per share. The firm’s 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. As a group, research analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th were given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.61%.

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.