Legal & General Group Plc Raises Stake in The Western Union Company $WU

Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 43.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 908,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 275,283 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Western Union were worth $8,461,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WU. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Western Union by 76.0% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 29,787 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 12,865 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in Western Union by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 9,733,727 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $90,621,000 after acquiring an additional 124,650 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 1,084.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 20,161 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $188,000 after acquiring an additional 18,459 shares in the last quarter. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Western Union in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,024,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in shares of Western Union in the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Union news, insider Giovanni Angelini sold 6,000 shares of Western Union stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 311,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,947,935.24. The trade was a 1.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.23, for a total value of $183,898.52. Following the transaction, the insider owned 234,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,166,179.47. This represents a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 3.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $8.82.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WU opened at $7.71 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.46. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $8.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.15. The Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $7.68 and a fifty-two week high of $10.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. The business’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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. Western Union’s payout ratio is currently 69.12%.

Western Union Company 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.