The Western Union Company $WU Shares Purchased by Amundi

Key Points

• Amundi increased its Western Union stake by 1,179.5% in the first quarter, acquiring 531,412 additional shares for a total holding of 576,465 shares worth about $5.03 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 91.81% of the company.
• Wall Street sentiment remains negative, with analysts assigning a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $7.55; several firms recently cut their targets to between $6 and $8.
• Western Union missed quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.31 in EPS versus the $0.42 consensus and revenue of $1.01 billion, down 1.3% year over year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.235 per share, implying a 13.0% annualized yield.

Amundi boosted its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 1,179.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 576,465 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 531,412 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned 0.18% of Western Union worth $5,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parvin Asset Management LLC grew its position in Western Union by 56.1% during the first quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC now owns 16,625 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 5,975 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 23.2% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,020 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 18.3% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 383,223 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,346,000 after acquiring an additional 59,318 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Western Union by 28.5% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,922,728 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $16,785,000 after acquiring an additional 426,939 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Western Union by 76.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 57,621 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $503,000 after acquiring an additional 25,030 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $8.00 price target on shares of Western Union in a report on Friday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on Western Union from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Western Union from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Western Union from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Western Union from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $7.55.

Western Union Stock Performance

NYSE WU opened at $7.23 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $7.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.69. The company has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a PE ratio of 5.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.47. The Western Union Company has a 1-year low of $6.27 and a 1-year high of $10.35.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 50.89%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.37 earnings per share. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.350 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 16th. Western Union's payout ratio is currently 76.42%.

Western Union 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WU? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source