Amundi Has $3.50 Million Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Amundi grew its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 190.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 334,911 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 219,798 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in Western Union were worth $3,496,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 16.7% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 165,990 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,980,000 after acquiring an additional 23,746 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 185.3% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 36,295 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 23,574 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Western Union during the third quarter valued at $120,000. Royce & Associates LP acquired a new position in shares of Western Union during the third quarter valued at $132,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 52.2% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,433 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $184,000 after acquiring an additional 5,292 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of WU opened at $10.70 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.20. The Western Union Company has a twelve month low of $10.04 and a twelve month high of $14.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $10.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.04. The firm has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.92, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.79.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. On average, analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s payout ratio is currently 34.43%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WU has been the topic of several research reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Susquehanna cut their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Union has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.11.

Western Union Company 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.