Bank of New York Mellon Corp Has $65.56 Million Stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp trimmed its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 1.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,196,581 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 109,352 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 1.87% of Western Union worth $65,560,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated bought a new position in Western Union during the 1st quarter worth $115,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in Western Union by 49.0% during the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 68,284 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $722,000 after acquiring an additional 22,459 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Western Union by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 779,770 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $8,250,000 after acquiring an additional 3,558 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. bought a new position in Western Union during the 1st quarter worth $124,000. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Western Union by 28.8% during the 1st quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 61,770 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $654,000 after acquiring an additional 13,801 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Union Stock Down 2.8%

WU stock opened at $8.35 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $9.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.96. The Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $8.29 and a fifty-two week high of $13.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.65.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last posted 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Western Union's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on WU. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Western Union in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. 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. 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, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.

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