State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Has $1.65 Million Stock Holdings in The Western Union Company $WU

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 7.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 195,581 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,766 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned 0.06% of Western Union worth $1,647,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 16.4% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,041,493 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $136,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,835,062 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Western Union by 414.7% during the 2nd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,180,426 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,939,000 after buying an additional 951,066 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Western Union by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,217,217 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $139,838,000 after acquiring an additional 728,138 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Western Union in the 1st quarter valued at about $7,421,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 14.9% in the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 4,189,459 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $35,275,000 after acquiring an additional 544,232 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of WU opened at $9.31 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80. The stock has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $8.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.76. The Western Union Company has a 1 year low of $7.85 and a 1 year high of $11.94.

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

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th were given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.1%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Union

In other Western Union news, CEO Devin Mcgranahan acquired 176,470 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $8.49 per share, with a total value of $1,498,230.30. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Matthew Cagwin bought 17,500 shares of Western Union stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were acquired 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 represents a 8.41% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Western Union from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Barclays set a $8.00 price target on Western Union and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Western Union from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Western Union from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $8.55.

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.