Marshall Financial Group LLC Invests $703,000 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 position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 82,560 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $703,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WU. Brickwood Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Western Union in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,177,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,041,493 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $136,675,000 after buying an additional 1,835,062 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 151.1% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 2,459,038 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $26,066,000 after purchasing an additional 1,479,751 shares during the period. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in Western Union in the first quarter valued at approximately $14,548,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Western Union by 5.8% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,217,217 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $139,838,000 after purchasing an additional 728,138 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Western Union Stock Performance

WU traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $8.12. 8,023,091 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,641,770. The Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $7.89 and a 52-week high of $12.40. The company's fifty day moving average price is $8.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Western Union's dividend payout ratio is 35.61%.

Insider Transactions at Western Union

In related news, CFO Matthew Cagwin bought 17,500 shares of Western Union stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.36 per share, with a total value of $146,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 225,611 shares in the company, valued at $1,886,107.96. The trade was a 8.41% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Devin Mcgranahan bought 176,470 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.49 per share, with a total value of $1,498,230.30. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on WU. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Western Union in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $9.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered 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 report on Tuesday, July 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of Western Union to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $10.00 price target on shares of Western Union in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $8.61.

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.