Corebridge Financial Inc. Cuts Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Corebridge Financial Inc. lowered its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 382,917 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 17,223 shares during the quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc.’s holdings in Western Union were worth $4,059,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WU. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 41.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,305,933 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $66,843,000 after purchasing an additional 1,857,012 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Western Union during the 3rd quarter worth about $11,726,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,489,079 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $132,384,000 after acquiring an additional 549,931 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,055,661 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $403,390,000 after acquiring an additional 317,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Western Union by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,698,559 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,264,000 after acquiring an additional 283,479 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:WU opened at $10.48 on Monday. The Western Union Company has a 12-month low of $10.04 and a 12-month high of $13.95. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.94. The firm has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.84, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Western Union announced that its board has approved 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 repurchase up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Union Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WU has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays cut their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday, February 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.11.

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.