Blue Trust Inc. Reduces Stock Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Blue Trust Inc. lowered its position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 13.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,039 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,837 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Western Union were worth $128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 50,387 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in Western Union by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 238,876 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,849,000 after buying an additional 1,205 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Western Union by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 88,410 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,055,000 after buying an additional 1,230 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in Western Union by 12.9% in the third quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 13,177 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Western Union by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 61,606 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $653,000 after acquiring an additional 1,560 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Union Stock Down 1.0 %

Western Union stock opened at $10.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.89, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.85. The Western Union Company has a 1-year low of $10.04 and a 1-year high of $14.19. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $10.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.14.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its quarterly 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, December 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.84%. Western Union’s payout ratio is currently 34.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WU shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus 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.