Rhumbline Advisers Has $10.27 Million Holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Rhumbline Advisers trimmed its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 968,576 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 12,966 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Western Union were worth $10,267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Western Union by 971.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 13,876 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $170,000 after buying an additional 12,581 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 1,189.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,854 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 7,245 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC increased its stake in Western Union by 5.0% in the third quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 51,677 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $617,000 after acquiring an additional 2,448 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Western Union by 50.2% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,121 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 14,415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in Western Union by 12.1% during the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 185,573 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,274,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.11.

Western Union Stock Performance

NYSE:WU opened at $10.63 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $10.54 and its 200 day moving average is $11.13. The firm has a market cap 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.20. The Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $10.04 and a 52-week high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 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%. Research analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

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

Western Union announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, December 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Union Company 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.