The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Sold by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 49.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,648,358 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,632,082 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s holdings in Western Union were worth $19,648,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,498,861 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $151,555,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088,247 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 8,087,155 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $96,399,000 after purchasing an additional 160,735 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 7,460,960 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $88,935,000 after purchasing an additional 1,627,822 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 6,839,743 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $90,148,000 after purchasing an additional 605,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,342,193 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $83,590,000 after purchasing an additional 689,254 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Union Price Performance

WU stock opened at $12.09 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.38. The Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $10.92 and a 52-week high of $14.19. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $12.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.83. The company has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a PE ratio of 7.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.85.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.05. Western Union had a return on equity of 120.76% and a net margin of 14.12%. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. Western Union’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Monness Crespi & Hardt assumed coverage on Western Union in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Western Union from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.61.

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.