Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Acquires 25,483 Shares of The Western Union Company $WU

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 9.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 300,763 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,483 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.09% of Western Union worth $2,532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WU. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 80.2% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,264 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,453 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Western Union by 464.3% in the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 3,397 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,795 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 188.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,803 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,483 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its position in Western Union by 2,225.8% in the second quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 5,675 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 5,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CHICAGO TRUST Co NA purchased a new stake in Western Union in the 2nd quarter worth about $84,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WU shares. Barclays set a $8.00 price target on Western Union and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $9.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group cut their price target on Western Union from $10.50 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their price target on Western Union from $7.50 to $7.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $8.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Devin Mcgranahan acquired 176,470 shares of Western Union stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $8.49 per share, for a total transaction of $1,498,230.30. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 913,125 shares in the company, valued at $7,752,431.25. This trade represents a 23.96% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Matthew Cagwin acquired 17,500 shares of Western Union stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the chief financial officer owned 225,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,886,107.96. The trade was a 8.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.58% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Trading Up 1.3%

Western Union stock opened at $8.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $8.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. The Western Union Company has a one year low of $7.85 and a one year high of $12.02. The stock has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a PE ratio of 3.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.61.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued 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 net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 66.11%. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Union has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.61%.

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.