The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Sold by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can lowered its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 49.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,886 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 40,260 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can's holdings in Western Union were worth $444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 29,204 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $348,000 after acquiring an additional 4,247 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 608,454 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $7,257,000 after acquiring an additional 51,327 shares during the period. Invst LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 118,711 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,416,000 after acquiring an additional 5,143 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 3rd quarter worth $381,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 3rd quarter worth $310,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on WU shares. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $10.50 price objective (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. 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. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered Western Union from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $7.50 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $10.78.

Western Union Price Performance

WU stock traded up $0.02 on Monday, reaching $10.16. The company had a trading volume of 6,686,199 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,777,613. The Western Union Company has a 1 year low of $9.00 and a 1 year high of $13.60. 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 company's fifty day moving average is $10.39 and its 200 day moving average is $10.64. The company has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.72, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.69.

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

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Western Union's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.07%.

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.