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

Amundi grew its position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 190.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 334,911 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 219,798 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned approximately 0.10% of Western Union worth $3,496,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Inceptionr LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union during the 4th quarter valued at about $328,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Western Union in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $705,000. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of Western Union in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $186,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,489,079 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $132,384,000 after acquiring an additional 549,931 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Western Union in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $192,000. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Union Stock Performance

WU opened at $10.70 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of 3.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. The Western Union Company has a 1 year low of $10.04 and a 1 year high of $14.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.04.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WU shares. Susquehanna cut their price objective 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. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on 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. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.11.

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.