The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Bought by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 2,948.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,236 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 38,916 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings in Western Union were worth $426,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 28,983,265 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $307,224,000 after buying an additional 4,426,126 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 202.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,661,732 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $60,014,000 after buying an additional 3,792,683 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,206,431 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $118,788,000 after buying an additional 3,146,395 shares during the period. Brickwood Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union in the fourth quarter worth about $31,177,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 32.1% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,021,308 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $95,626,000 after buying an additional 2,194,403 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of Western Union stock traded down $0.03 on Monday, reaching $8.45. 5,675,686 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,408,312. 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's 50-day moving average is $9.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.17. The firm has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.68. The Western Union Company has a 1-year low of $8.37 and a 1-year high of $13.12.

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

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Western Union's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on WU shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Western Union in a report on Monday, June 2nd. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded Western Union from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $7.50 target price on the stock. in a report 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Union has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.78.

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.