The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Sold by Ariel Investments LLC

Ariel Investments LLC decreased its position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 340,128 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 29,754 shares during the quarter. Ariel Investments LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $4,156,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WU. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 31.1% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,316 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 1,024 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its stake in Western Union by 34.6% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 31,272 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 8,041 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its stake in Western Union by 18.0% during the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 142,398 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,740,000 after acquiring an additional 21,766 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Western Union by 52.0% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,337,466 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,784,000 after acquiring an additional 1,142,400 shares during the period. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 751.7% in the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 722,532 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,829,000 after purchasing an additional 637,702 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WU opened at $11.90 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.04, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.98. The Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $10.92 and a 52-week high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 13.64% and a return on equity of 123.71%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.90%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective 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. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target 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, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.14.

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.