The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Bought by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 316,782 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,795 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $3,358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in Western Union in the third quarter worth about $25,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Western Union in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky bought a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in Western Union by 1,734.7% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 4,862 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 4,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Western Union during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on WU. Barclays dropped their price target on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Union has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.11.

Western Union Trading Down 1.5 %

Western Union stock opened at $10.49 on Tuesday. The Western Union Company has a 12 month low of $10.04 and a 12 month high of $14.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. The stock has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.98.

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

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is 34.43%.

Western Union announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, December 13th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.