AQR Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 39.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,206,431 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,146,395 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 3.32% of Western Union worth $118,788,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 9.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 608,454 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $7,257,000 after buying an additional 51,327 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC lifted its stake in Western Union by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 118,711 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,416,000 after acquiring an additional 5,143 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union during the 3rd quarter valued at about $381,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 1.4% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 88,410 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 8.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,103,296 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $13,061,000 after purchasing an additional 81,343 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Western Union Stock Performance

NYSE WU traded up $0.06 on Friday, reaching $9.72. 5,921,550 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,856,683. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 3.56, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.69. The Western Union Company has a one year low of $9.00 and a one year high of $13.60. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $10.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.01. Western Union had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. The company had revenue of $983.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. Western Union's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.67%. Western Union's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WU shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $10.78.

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.