MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU – Get Rating) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 10,135 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $137,000.
Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 6.7% in the third quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 13,540 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $183,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. NuWave Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 49.8% in the third quarter. NuWave Investment Management LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 867 shares in the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 1.9% in the third quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 49,078 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $663,000 after acquiring an additional 899 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 89.4% in the third quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 1,941 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 3.3% in the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 30,876 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $509,000 after acquiring an additional 975 shares in the last quarter. 97.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WU shares. Barclays lowered their price target on Western Union from $13.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 9th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Western Union in a research report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.23.
Western Union Stock Performance
Western Union (NYSE:WU – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 7th. The credit services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.03). Western Union had a net margin of 20.35% and a return on equity of 151.54%. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Western Union Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 17th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 16th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.74%. Western Union’s payout ratio is 40.17%.
About Western Union
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.
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