Vontobel Holding Ltd. Acquires 33,295 Shares of The Western Union Company $WU

Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 285.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 44,975 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 33,295 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Western Union were worth $379,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake 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 increased its stake 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 increased its stake 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. increased its stake 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. increased its stake 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Price Performance

WU opened at $8.29 on Wednesday. The Western Union Company has a one year low of $7.85 and a one year 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.61.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. Western Union’s revenue for the quarter 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Western Union

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WU. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $10.00 target price on shares of Western Union in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Monness Crespi & Hardt decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $7.50 to $7.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of Western Union from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $8.50.

Western Union 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.