JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 20.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,698,559 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 283,479 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Western Union were worth $20,264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WU. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Union during the third quarter worth $25,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Western Union by 52.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 89.3% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,226 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Western Union by 31.1% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,316 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union during the 3rd quarter worth about $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Stock Up 0.1 %

WU opened at $10.44 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $10.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.55. The Western Union Company has a 52 week low of $10.26 and a 52 week high of $14.19. The company has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of 5.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 16.07% and a return on equity of 120.39%. Western Union’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.00%. Western Union’s payout ratio is currently 48.21%.

Western Union declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, December 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on WU shares. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.63.

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.