The Western Union Company $WU Shares Acquired by Osaic Holdings Inc.

Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 98.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 190,511 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 94,736 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. owned about 0.06% of Western Union worth $1,604,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 667.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,602 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 4,002 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised 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. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA acquired a new stake in Western Union in the second quarter valued at $84,000. Qtron Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union during the 2nd quarter worth $88,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Western Union during the 2nd quarter worth $100,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Giovanni Angelini purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.95 per share, for a total transaction of $89,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 186,932 shares in the company, valued at $1,673,041.40. This represents a 5.65% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WU has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Western Union to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Western Union from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings raised Western Union from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Western Union from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $8.70.

Western Union Price Performance

WU stock opened at $9.30 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $9.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.59. The firm has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.06, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The Western Union Company has a 1 year low of $7.85 and a 1 year high of $11.94.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.04. Western Union had a return on equity of 60.85% and a net margin of 18.80%.The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. Western Union’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Union has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 22nd. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.05%.

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.