Pictet Asset Management SA Sells 5,102 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Feb 27th, 2023

Pictet Asset Management SA lowered its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU – Get Rating) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 178,493 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 5,102 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management SA’s holdings in Western Union were worth $2,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WU. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 13,546.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,401,454 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,419,000 after purchasing an additional 2,383,856 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 142.5% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,908,148 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $47,432,000 after buying an additional 1,708,759 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,856,481 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $315,890,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592,331 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Western Union during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,384,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 2,258.2% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,181,652 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $15,952,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131,544 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.66% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Trading Down 1.4 %

WU opened at $13.09 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $14.00 and a 200 day moving average of $14.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.48. The Western Union Company has a 12 month low of $12.27 and a 12 month high of $19.97. The firm has a market cap of $4.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.86.

Western Union (NYSE:WU – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 7th. The credit services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 20.35% and a return on equity of 151.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.18%. Western Union’s payout ratio is 40.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Sunday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Union currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.30.

Western Union Company Profile

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The Western Union Co is a holding company, which engages in the provision of money transfer and payment services. It operates through the following segments: Consumer-to-Consumer, Business Solutions, and Other. The Consumer-to-Consumer segment facilitates money transfers between two consumers. The Business Solutions segment offers payment and foreign exchange solutions, cross-border, and cross-currency transactions for small and medium size enterprises and other organizations and individuals.