Principle Wealth Partners LLC Has $148,000 Stake in The Western Union Company $WU

Principle Wealth Partners LLC reduced its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 17,533 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,924 shares during the quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $148,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WU. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Western Union by 16.4% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,041,493 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $136,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,835,062 shares during the last quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union in the first quarter valued at about $14,548,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of Western Union by 414.7% in the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,180,426 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,939,000 after purchasing an additional 951,066 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of 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. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union in the first quarter valued at about $7,421,000. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Western Union

In other Western Union news, CEO Devin Mcgranahan purchased 176,470 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price 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 approximately $7,752,431.25. This trade represents a 23.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew Cagwin bought 17,500 shares of the business’s 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 purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 225,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,886,107.96. The trade was a 8.41% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Western Union Stock Up 10.3%

Shares of WU opened at $8.98 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.61. 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 Western Union Company has a 12 month low of $7.85 and a 12 month high of $11.94. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $8.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.80.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 18.80% and a return on equity of 60.76%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. Western Union has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. Equities analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.5%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $10.00 price target on Western Union in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Monness Crespi & Hardt decreased their target price on Western Union from $7.50 to $7.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Citigroup raised Western Union to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Western Union from $10.50 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $8.55.

About Western Union

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.