River Global Investors LLP Decreases Stock Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

River Global Investors LLP lowered its position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 117,851 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 11,404 shares during the period. River Global Investors LLP’s holdings in Western Union were worth $1,404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Western Union by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 56,476 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $744,000 after buying an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in Western Union by 0.5% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 169,552 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,235,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its stake in Western Union by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 197,250 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Western Union by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 6,793 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Western Union by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 106,623 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WU has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Western Union from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Western Union from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.61.

Insider Transactions at Western Union

In other Western Union news, Director Timothy P. Murphy purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $12.85 per share, with a total value of $128,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 56,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $722,234.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WU traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $13.37. The company had a trading volume of 4,053,585 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,757,889. The Western Union Company has a 12 month low of $10.92 and a 12 month high of $14.19. The stock has a market cap of $4.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.91, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.38, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.61.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 14.12% and a return on equity of 120.76%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.03%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.62%.

About Western Union

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.