The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Sold by Clark Estates Inc. NY

Clark Estates Inc. NY cut its position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 27.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 153,024 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 58,429 shares during the quarter. Clark Estates Inc. NY's holdings in Western Union were worth $1,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WU. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Western Union during the first quarter worth $262,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 9.0% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 186,654 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,975,000 after buying an additional 15,449 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Western Union by 43.3% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 122,542 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,296,000 after buying an additional 37,042 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 10.0% during the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 82,923 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $877,000 after buying an additional 7,557 shares during the period. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Western Union during the first quarter worth approximately $155,000. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $10.00 price target on Western Union in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays set a $8.00 price target on Western Union and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $9.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $8.61.

Western Union Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of WU stock traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $7.92. 9,651,865 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,260,880. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.65. The Western Union Company has a one year low of $7.90 and a one year high of $12.40. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $8.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.02). Western Union had a return on equity of 66.11% and a net margin of 21.83%. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.44 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.9%. Western Union's payout ratio is 35.61%.

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.