D.A. Davidson & CO. Sells 11,870 Shares of The Western Union Company $WU

D.A. Davidson & CO. lessened its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,414 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 11,870 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Western Union were worth $475,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WU. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 2,483 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 275,280 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,885,000 after acquiring an additional 30,801 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 1st quarter worth about $124,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 779,770 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,250,000 after acquiring an additional 3,558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated bought a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 1st quarter worth about $115,000. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WU has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Western Union from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reduced their price target 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. UBS Group reduced 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. 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, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $9.00 price target on the stock. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $8.55.

Insider Transactions at Western Union

In other news, CFO Matthew Cagwin purchased 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.36 per share, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 8.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Devin Mcgranahan acquired 176,470 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was 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 owned 913,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,752,431.25. The trade was a 23.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Western Union Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:WU opened at $9.54 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.78. The Western Union Company has a one year low of $7.85 and a one year high of $11.94. The firm has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 18.80% and a return on equity of 60.85%. Western Union’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. Western Union has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is 41.05%.

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.