Barclays PLC Reduces Holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Barclays PLC lessened its position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 20.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 486,560 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 121,894 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.14% of Western Union worth $5,159,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union in the fourth quarter valued at about $114,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Western Union by 248.8% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 265,135 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,810,000 after buying an additional 189,125 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in Western Union by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 19,621 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $208,000 after buying an additional 3,660 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Western Union in the fourth quarter worth $705,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union in the fourth quarter valued at $116,000. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Union Trading Up 0.7 %

WU traded up $0.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $9.73. 1,009,468 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,831,724. The Western Union Company has a 1 year low of $9.00 and a 1 year high of $13.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $10.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.62. The firm has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.69. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $983.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.01 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. The firm's revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Western Union's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on WU shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Susquehanna cut their price objective 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. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $10.50 price target (down from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, April 24th. 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, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $10.78.

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.