Vise Technologies Inc. Invests $428,000 in The Western Union Company $WU

Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 50,876 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $428,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 0.3% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 405,839 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,294,000 after buying an additional 1,262 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 64,248 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $541,000 after acquiring an additional 1,424 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 2.6% in the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 75,479 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $799,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Western Union by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 57,547 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $608,000 after purchasing an additional 2,140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Western Union by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 79,911 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $845,000 after buying an additional 2,294 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on WU shares. Zacks Research upgraded Western Union from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Western Union from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $9.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Barclays set a $8.00 price target on shares of Western Union and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $8.70.

Western Union Stock Performance

NYSE WU opened at $8.85 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.12. The Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $7.85 and a 52-week high of $11.94. The company has a fifty day moving average of $8.48 and a 200-day moving average of $8.70.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. The company’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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.6%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Union

In other Western Union news, CEO Devin Mcgranahan purchased 176,470 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.49 per share, with a total value of $1,498,230.30. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 913,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,752,431.25. The trade was a 23.96% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Matthew Cagwin bought 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.36 per share, with a total value of $146,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 225,611 shares in the company, valued at $1,886,107.96. This trade represents a 8.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have acquired 203,970 shares of company stock worth $1,734,030 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.58% of the company’s stock.

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.