LPL Financial LLC Acquires 37,042 Shares of 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 lifted its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 43.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 122,542 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing 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 reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WU. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 4th quarter worth about $705,000. Mariner LLC grew its holdings in Western Union by 96.0% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 51,027 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $541,000 after acquiring an additional 24,993 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Western Union by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,555,953 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $37,693,000 after acquiring an additional 487,865 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Western Union by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,072,627 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $53,770,000 after acquiring an additional 428,856 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Western Union by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 193,048 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,046,000 after acquiring an additional 15,754 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Western Union in a report on Monday, June 2nd. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $10.00 price objective on shares of Western Union in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "hold" rating and a $9.00 price objective on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $8.61.

Western Union Trading Down 0.3%

Western Union stock traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $8.53. 5,360,285 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,273,644. 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 $7.89 and a fifty-two week high of $12.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.23, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.61. The firm's 50 day moving average is $8.39 and its 200-day moving average is $9.46.

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

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.0%. Western Union's payout ratio is presently 35.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Matthew Cagwin purchased 17,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Devin Mcgranahan purchased 176,470 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price 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 trade represents a 23.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.58% of the company's stock.

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.