Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $1.23 Million Position in The Western Union Company $WU

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 141,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WU. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Western Union by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,471,400 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $320,929,000 after acquiring an additional 1,171,810 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in Western Union by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 16,948,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $135,417,000 after purchasing an additional 3,708,291 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,984,472 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $130,195,000 after purchasing an additional 580,264 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Union by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,081,062 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $121,785,000 after purchasing an additional 624,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Western Union by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,746,779 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $99,891,000 after purchasing an additional 962,341 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Benjamin Carlton Adams sold 19,924 shares of Western Union stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.23, for a total value of $183,898.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 234,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,166,179.47. This trade represents a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Giovanni Angelini sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.47, for a total value of $56,820.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 311,292 shares in the company, valued at $2,947,935.24. The trade was a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Company insiders own 3.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings downgraded Western Union from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Union has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $8.82.

Western Union Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of WU opened at $8.01 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a PE ratio of 5.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s fifty day moving average is $8.09 and its 200 day moving average is $8.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $6.91 and a fifty-two week high of $10.35.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.15). Western Union had a net margin of 10.88% and a return on equity of 55.94%. The business had revenue of $963.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. Western Union’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.750-1.850 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.7%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.12%.

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.