Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 147,029 Shares of The Western Union Company $WU

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 8.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,993,880 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 147,029 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Western Union were worth $16,789,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 6.5% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 135,968 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,439,000 after buying an additional 8,330 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Western Union during the 1st quarter valued at about $155,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Western Union by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 82,923 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $877,000 after purchasing an additional 7,557 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 43.3% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 122,542 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,296,000 after purchasing an additional 37,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 9.0% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 186,654 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,975,000 after purchasing an additional 15,449 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Giovanni Angelini bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.95 per share, with a total value of $89,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 186,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,673,041.40. This represents a 5.65% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.58% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Price Performance

WU opened at $8.76 on Friday. The Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $7.85 and a fifty-two week high of $11.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $8.51 and a 200 day moving average of $8.63. 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 firm has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.83, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.61.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research raised Western Union from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Western Union from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Western Union from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Citigroup raised shares of Western Union to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $8.70.

Western Union Company Profile

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.