LPL Financial LLC Boosts Stock Position in The Western Union Company $WU

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in The Western Union Company by 43.3% during the 1st quarter, owning a total of 122,542 shares valued at approximately $1.3 million.
• CFO Matthew Cagwin purchased 17,500 shares at an average price of $8.36, raising his ownership stake by 8.41%.
• Western Union reported an earnings miss for the last quarter with $0.42 earnings per share, falling short of analysts' estimates of $0.44.

LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 43.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 122,542 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 37,042 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Western Union were worth $1,296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in Western Union by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 22,298 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 982 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 0.5% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 239,236 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,530,000 after purchasing an additional 1,085 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 0.7% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 186,822 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,947,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 0.3% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 405,839 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,294,000 after purchasing an additional 1,262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 2.3% during the first quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 62,824 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $665,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Matthew Cagwin acquired 17,500 shares of Western Union stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 225,611 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,886,107.96. This trade represents a 8.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of WU opened at $8.6750 on Friday. The Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $7.89 and a fifty-two week high of $12.40. The company has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. Western Union has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WU shares. Barclays set a $8.00 price objective on Western Union and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Western Union in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "hold" rating and a $9.00 price objective on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their price objective on Western Union from $7.50 to $7.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $10.00 price objective on Western Union in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $9.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Union presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $8.61.

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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