The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Stake Lowered by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC reduced its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 23.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 568,323 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 169,286 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 0.17% of Western Union worth $5,996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WU. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 171.5% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 17,777 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 11,229 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Western Union by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,489,079 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $132,384,000 after buying an additional 549,931 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 4th quarter worth approximately $186,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Western Union in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $705,000. Finally, Inceptionr LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Union in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $328,000. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WU shares. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $10.50 target price (down from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a research 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 objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $10.78.

Western Union Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of Western Union stock traded down $0.09 during trading on Monday, hitting $8.53. The stock had a trading volume of 5,958,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,576,577. The Western Union Company has a 1 year low of $8.29 and a 1 year high of $13.12. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. The company has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of 3.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.65.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $983.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.01 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 22.08% and a return on equity of 77.19%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. On average, research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.02%. Western Union's payout ratio is presently 35.07%.

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.