Giovanni Angelini Sells 6,000 Shares of Western Union (NYSE:WU) Stock

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) 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 transaction of $56,820.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 311,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,947,935.24. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Western Union Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of WU traded up $0.10 during trading on Thursday, reaching $9.08. 7,604,584 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,999,118. The Western Union Company has a twelve month low of $7.85 and a twelve month high of $10.35. The stock has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a PE ratio of 6.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced 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 net margin of 10.88% and a return on equity of 55.94%. The company had revenue of $963.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. Western Union’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.750-1.850 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.4%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Union

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 39,859 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $422,000 after buying an additional 5,351 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Western Union by 27.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,964,972 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,789,000 after acquiring an additional 422,715 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Western Union by 9.0% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,861,908 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $19,699,000 after acquiring an additional 154,110 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in Western Union by 93.5% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 27,535 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 13,302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Western Union by 24.7% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 36,874 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 7,314 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Western Union to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Western Union from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $8.82.

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.