SG Americas Securities LLC Has $1.16 Million Position in The Western Union Company $WU

SG Americas Securities LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 98.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 132,958 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 7,821,087 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $1,161,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WU. Cambria Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $6,951,000 after purchasing an additional 144,405 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings 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 worth $135,417,000 after buying an additional 3,708,291 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Western Union by 35.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,407,960 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $96,898,000 after buying an additional 2,716,385 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 1,171,810 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Western Union by 143.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 882,399 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,050,000 after buying an additional 519,427 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $8.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Giovanni Angelini sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 311,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,947,935.24. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Benjamin Carlton Adams sold 19,924 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 $2,166,179.47. This represents a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 3.29% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE WU opened at $8.01 on Friday. The Western Union Company has a 1 year low of $6.91 and a 1 year high of $10.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $8.09 and its 200-day moving average is $8.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a PE ratio of 5.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.46.

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

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.7%. Western Union’s payout ratio is presently 69.12%.

About Western Union

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.