Marshall Financial Group LLC Raises Stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Marshall Financial Group LLC boosted its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 11.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,881 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,735 shares during the period. Marshall Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $907,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. LSV Asset Management increased 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 worth $96,399,000 after acquiring an additional 160,735 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in Western Union by 27.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,627,822 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted 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 buying an additional 605,620 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,543,650 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $54,161,000 after buying an additional 721,331 shares during the period. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its position in shares of Western Union by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 2,528,570 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $30,141,000 after acquiring an additional 188,462 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WU shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Western Union from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt began coverage on Western Union in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.61.

Western Union Stock Performance

NYSE WU opened at $12.25 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $12.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.84. The Western Union Company has a twelve month low of $10.92 and a twelve month high of $14.19. The company has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a PE ratio of 7.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.38.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.67%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.62%.

Western Union Profile

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.