Marshall Financial Group LLC Makes New $703,000 Investment in The Western Union Company $WU

Key Points

• Marshall Financial Group LLC has acquired 82,560 shares of The Western Union Company, valued at approximately $703,000, indicating increased institutional interest in the stock.
• Analysts have lowered their price targets for Western Union, with Zacks Research rating the stock as a "strong sell" and several firms reducing their targets, reflecting cautious sentiment on the company's performance.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.235 per share, payable on September 30th, which translates to an annualized dividend yield of 11.4%.

Marshall Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 82,560 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $703,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Western Union by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 22,298 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 982 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Western Union by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 127,638 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,353,000 after acquiring an additional 21,309 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in Western Union by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 14,233 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 1,493 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Western Union during the fourth quarter worth approximately $475,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Western Union by 80.5% in the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 69,197 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $733,000 after buying an additional 30,869 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Union news, CFO Matthew Cagwin bought 17,500 shares of Western Union stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.36 per share, for a total transaction of $146,300.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 225,611 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,886,107.96. This represents a 8.41% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Devin Mcgranahan acquired 176,470 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.49 per share, with a total value of $1,498,230.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer 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. Insiders own 1.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Western Union from $10.50 to $8.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Monness Crespi & Hardt decreased their target price 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. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Western Union in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $9.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Seven 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.com, Western Union has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $8.61.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of Western Union stock traded down $0.06 on Friday, hitting $8.14. 16,293,446 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,230,807. The company has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.64. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $8.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.22. The Western Union Company has a 12-month low of $7.89 and a 12-month high of $12.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 66.11% and a net margin of 21.83%.The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. Western Union's quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Western Union has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. Analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Western Union's payout ratio is currently 35.61%.

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.