The Western Union Company $WU Shares Bought by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in The Western Union Company by 3.5% in Q4 and now owns 34,471,400 shares (about a 10.85% stake) valued at roughly $320.93 million.
• Western Union missed quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.25 vs. $0.40 expected and revenue of $963.5M vs. $1.06B, and set FY2026 guidance of $1.750–1.850 (analysts expect ~1.76 EPS).
• The company pays a high dividend — $0.235 quarterly ($0.94 annualized) — representing a 10.4% yield

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,471,400 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,171,810 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.85% of Western Union worth $320,929,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 606.7% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 3,265 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 2,803 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 1,546.5% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 3,326 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 3,124 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 164.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,581 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 2,229 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Western Union by 260.7% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,593 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 2,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WealthCollab LLC increased its holdings in Western Union by 64.5% in the fourth quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 4,153 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,629 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Union Price Performance

WU stock opened at $9.04 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $9.22 and a 200-day moving average of $9.23. The Western Union Company has a 12-month low of $7.85 and a 12-month high of $10.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88. The company has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.64, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.50.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.15). Western Union had a net margin of 10.88% and a return on equity of 55.94%. The company had revenue of $963.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. Western Union's revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.750-1.850 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. Western Union's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Giovanni Angelini sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.47, for a total transaction of $56,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 311,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,947,935.24. This trade represents a 1.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Benjamin Carlton Adams sold 19,924 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.23, for a total transaction of $183,898.52. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 234,689 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,166,179.47. This trade represents a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 3.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WU has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Western Union to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $8.82.

Western Union Company Profile

Western Union Company NYSE: WU is a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments. The company enables individuals and businesses to send and receive money through a variety of channels, including its vast agent network, online platforms, and mobile applications. Core services include person-to-person money transfers, business-to-business cross-border payments, bill payment services and prepaid card programs.

Through its digital offerings, Western Union provides customers with the ability to initiate transfers via its website and mobile app, as well as track transactions in real time.

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