The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU – Free Report) by 7.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,479,361 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 120,723 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.40% of Western Union worth $16,495,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WU. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Western Union by 155.3% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,576,970 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $90,565,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000,880 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Western Union by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,774,680 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $617,958,000 after acquiring an additional 3,522,420 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 9,439,304 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $129,885,000 after buying an additional 2,144,069 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,041,000. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 10.4% in 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 buying an additional 1,592,331 shares during the period. 92.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Western Union Stock Performance

Western Union stock opened at $11.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.49, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $11.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.85. The company has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.05, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.86. The Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $10.07 and a fifty-two week high of $15.77.

Western Union (NYSE:WU – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The credit services provider reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.12. Western Union had a return on equity of 116.87% and a net margin of 17.12%. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Western Union in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Western Union from $15.00 to $12.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Citigroup raised their price target on Western Union from $11.50 to $12.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 24th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Western Union from $10.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, 3M reaffirmed a “maintains” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Union presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.81.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Western Union

About Western Union

(Free Report)

The Western Union Company provides money movement and payment services worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Consumer-to-Consumer and Business Solutions. The Consumer-to-Consumer 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.

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