New York State Teachers Retirement System Has $3.86 Million Stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 9.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 365,093 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 38,200 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.11% of Western Union worth $3,863,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted 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 acquiring an additional 4,426,126 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 202.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,661,732 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $60,014,000 after purchasing an additional 3,792,683 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Western Union by 39.0% during the fourth 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. Brickwood Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in Western Union in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,177,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings 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 valued at $95,626,000 after buying an additional 2,194,403 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Western Union Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE WU traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $8.65. The company had a trading volume of 5,236,513 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,608,717. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a PE ratio of 3.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.65. The Western Union Company has a twelve month low of $8.29 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's 50 day moving average is $9.17 and its 200-day moving average is $9.99.

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. The company had revenue of $983.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 77.19% and a net margin of 22.08%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 declared 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 10.87%. Western Union's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Susquehanna decreased 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 research note on Monday, June 2nd. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price 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. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $10.50 price target (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.