236,002 Shares in The Western Union Company $WU Purchased by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

Key Points

• The Virginia Retirement Systems acquired 236,002 shares of Western Union, valued at approximately $1,987,000, representing about 0.07% of the company's stock.
• Western Union's stock has seen recent price target reductions by analysts, with UBS Group lowering it from $10.50 to $8.50, indicating a "neutral" rating.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.235 per share, yielding 11.6%, and had a payout ratio of 35.61% as of the last report.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 236,002 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,987,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned approximately 0.07% of Western Union at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in Western Union by 14.9% during the 2nd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 4,189,459 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $35,275,000 after purchasing an additional 544,232 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Western Union by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 396,780 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,341,000 after buying an additional 31,687 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Western Union in the 2nd quarter valued at about $100,000. Morningstar Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Western Union by 22.8% in the 2nd quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC now owns 16,077 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $135,000 after buying an additional 2,989 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in Western Union by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 69,894 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $589,000 after buying an additional 3,399 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WU has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on Western Union from $10.50 to $8.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Western Union from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Barclays set a $8.00 price target on Western Union and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Western Union from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Western Union from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $8.50.

Western Union Stock Performance

NYSE WU opened at $8.13 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.61. The Western Union Company has a 1-year low of $7.85 and a 1-year high of $11.94. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $8.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.81.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 66.11%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. Western Union has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. Equities analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.6%. Western Union's payout ratio is 35.61%.

Insider Activity at Western Union

In related news, CFO Matthew Cagwin purchased 17,500 shares of Western Union stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.36 per share, with a total value of $146,300.00. Following the transaction, 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Devin Mcgranahan purchased 176,470 shares of Western Union stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.49 per share, for a total transaction of $1,498,230.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 913,125 shares in the company, 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 Company 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.

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