Blair William & Co. IL Boosts Stock Position in The Western Union Company $WU

Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 35.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,656 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,564 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Western Union were worth $241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WU. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Western Union by 464.3% in the first quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 3,397 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 2,795 shares during the last quarter. 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 worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,483 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Western Union by 2,225.8% in the second quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 5,675 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 5,431 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Western Union during the first quarter valued at $96,000. Finally, CHICAGO TRUST Co NA purchased a new stake in Western Union in the second quarter worth $84,000. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Western Union

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

Western Union Trading Up 2.5%

Western Union stock opened at $8.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. The Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $7.85 and a fifty-two week high of $12.02. The stock has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.14, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $8.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.84.

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). The business had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 66.11% and a net margin of 21.83%.Western Union’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. Western Union has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th were paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 16th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Western Union from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their price objective 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. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Western Union from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Western Union from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $8.50.

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.