Alps Advisors Inc. Has $16.73 Million Stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Alps Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 7.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,580,771 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 109,211 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. owned 0.48% of Western Union worth $16,725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Western Union by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 28,983,265 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $307,224,000 after buying an additional 4,426,126 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Western Union by 202.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,661,732 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $60,014,000 after buying an additional 3,792,683 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Western Union by 39.0% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,206,431 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $118,788,000 after buying an additional 3,146,395 shares during the last quarter. Brickwood Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,177,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,021,308 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $95,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,194,403 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Union Price Performance

WU traded down $0.04 during trading on Monday, hitting $8.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,320,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,810,356. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $9.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.95. 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 Western Union Company has a 12 month low of $8.25 and a 12 month high of $13.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.65.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.01. Western Union had a return on equity of 77.19% and a net margin of 22.08%. The business 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 firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Western Union's payout ratio is 35.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WU has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective 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. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered Western Union from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $7.50 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $10.50 price target (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $10.78.

Western Union 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.