The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Acquired by Cwm LLC

CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 186.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 148,890 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 96,894 shares during the period. CWM LLC's holdings in Western Union were worth $1,575,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WU. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Union by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,055,661 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $403,390,000 after acquiring an additional 317,711 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 18.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 4,426,126 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 39.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,146,395 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted 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 valued at $95,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,194,403 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,064,269 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $74,881,000 after purchasing an additional 41,772 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Union Stock Up 1.2%

WU traded up $0.10 during trading on Monday, hitting $8.12. The stock had a trading volume of 6,136,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,742,467. The company has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a PE ratio of 3.03, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.65. The Western Union Company has a twelve month low of $7.99 and a twelve month 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.87.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $983.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 22.08% and a return on equity of 77.19%. Western Union's revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.58%. Western Union's payout ratio is currently 35.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on WU shares. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday. They issued a "hold" rating and a $9.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered shares of Western Union from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $7.50 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $10.33.

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.