The Western Union Company $WU Stake Increased by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 52.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 520,779 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 179,423 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Western Union were worth $4,547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 11,759.8% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,954,045 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $74,052,000 after buying an additional 7,886,978 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake 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 during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Western Union by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,471,400 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $320,929,000 after acquiring an additional 1,171,810 shares in the last quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new stake in Western Union in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,234,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 72.0% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 344,452 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,207,000 after acquiring an additional 144,193 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WU shares. Barclays assumed coverage on Western Union in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $7.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup dropped their target price on Western Union from $9.50 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Western Union from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Western Union from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $8.45.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WU opened at $8.71 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.83. The Western Union Company has a 1-year low of $6.91 and a 1-year high of $10.35. The firm has a market cap of $2.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.46.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $963.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 10.88% and a return on equity of 55.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.41 EPS. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.750-1.850 EPS. Analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.12%.

Insider Transactions at Western Union

In other news, insider Giovanni Angelini sold 6,000 shares of Western Union stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.47, for a total value of $56,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 311,292 shares in the company, valued at $2,947,935.24. This trade represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.23, for a total transaction of $183,898.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 234,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,166,179.47. This trade represents a 7.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 3.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.