DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Has $1.97 Million Stock Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lessened its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 11.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 165,573 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 21,249 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Western Union were worth $1,974,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Western Union by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 841,034 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,057,000 after purchasing an additional 138,915 shares during the last quarter. Insight Folios Inc bought a new position in Western Union during the first quarter worth $5,388,000. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Western Union by 24.2% in the first quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 559,248 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,818,000 after buying an additional 109,014 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Western Union by 5.5% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,252,897 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $17,516,000 after acquiring an additional 65,087 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Western Union by 7,569.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,905,891 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $194,405,000 after acquiring an additional 13,724,584 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Stock Performance

WU opened at $11.90 on Thursday. The Western Union Company has a 1-year low of $10.92 and a 1-year high of $14.19. The company has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.04, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $12.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.98.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 13.64% and a return on equity of 123.71%. Western Union’s revenue was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. On average, analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.90%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WU. StockNews.com raised Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of Western Union in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.14.

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.