Legal & General Group Plc Grows Position in The Western Union Company $WU

Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 43.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 908,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 275,283 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.29% of Western Union worth $8,461,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WU. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 11,759.8% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,954,045 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $74,052,000 after purchasing an additional 7,886,978 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Western Union by 53.0% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 2,399,631 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $19,173,000 after purchasing an additional 831,245 shares during the last quarter. Cambria Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Western Union by 19.9% in the third quarter. Cambria Investment Management L.P. now owns 869,949 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,951,000 after purchasing an additional 144,405 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in Western Union by 51.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 6,329,626 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $50,574,000 after purchasing an additional 2,140,167 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in Western Union by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 16,948,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $135,417,000 after buying an additional 3,708,291 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Union

In other Western Union news, insider Benjamin Carlton Adams sold 19,924 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.23, for a total transaction of $183,898.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 234,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,166,179.47. The trade was a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Giovanni Angelini sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.47, for a total value of $56,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 311,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,947,935.24. The trade was a 1.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 3.29% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Price Performance

NYSE WU opened at $7.71 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $8.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.15. The Western Union Company has a 52 week low of $7.68 and a 52 week high of $10.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.67, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.46.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $963.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 55.94% and a net margin of 10.88%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.750-1.850 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.2%. Western Union’s payout ratio is presently 69.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus 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.