Nomura Holdings Inc. Makes New $475,000 Investment in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 44,822 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $475,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Meridiem Capital Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Western Union in the fourth quarter valued at about $16,347,000. Mubadala Investment Co PJSC purchased a new position in shares of Western Union in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,334,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,133,841 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $12,019,000 after buying an additional 208,379 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 304.5% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 791,280 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $8,387,000 after buying an additional 595,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union in the fourth quarter worth about $1,000,000. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Union Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:WU traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $9.48. The company had a trading volume of 7,957,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,109,382. The Western Union Company has a 12-month low of $9.00 and a 12-month high of $13.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.47, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $9.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.42.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.01. Western Union had a return on equity of 96.90% and a net margin of 22.19%. The company had revenue of $983.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. Western Union's revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.92%. Western Union's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WU. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Western Union from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $7.50 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.