MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. Raises Holdings in The Western Union Company $WU

Key Points

• MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in The Western Union Company by 28.6%, acquiring 324,213 shares to reach a total of approximately 1.46 million shares valued at $15.4 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Multiple institutional investors have also significantly increased their holdings in Western Union, with McIlrath & Eck LLC raising theirs by a staggering 1,487.6% in the fourth quarter.
• Western Union recently reported a quarterly EPS of $0.42, missing analyst expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.235 per share, yielding about 11.1%.

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 28.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,458,054 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 324,213 shares during the quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. owned 0.44% of Western Union worth $15,426,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 5.8% in the 1st 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 buying an additional 728,138 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $136,675,000 after buying an additional 1,835,062 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,175,171 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $75,913,000 after buying an additional 110,902 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,765,064 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $60,994,000 after buying an additional 103,332 shares during the period. Finally, Brickwood Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Western Union in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,177,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Western Union

In related news, CFO Matthew Cagwin purchased 17,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.36 per share, with a total value of $146,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 225,611 shares in the company, valued at $1,886,107.96. This trade represents a 8.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through 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 bought at an average cost of $8.49 per share, with a total value of $1,498,230.30. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 913,125 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,752,431.25. The trade was a 23.96% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Western Union Price Performance

NYSE:WU traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $8.43. 7,942,883 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,492,951. The Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $7.89 and a 52-week high of $12.40. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $8.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. The company has a market cap of $2.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.64.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.02). Western Union had a return on equity of 66.11% and a net margin of 21.83%.The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Western Union's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WU. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Western Union from $13.00 to $9.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Susquehanna cut their price target on Western Union from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their price target on Western Union from $7.50 to $7.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $10.00 price target on Western Union in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Western Union from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus 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.