Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Takes $14.55 Million Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,375,000 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $14,548,000. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. owned approximately 0.41% of Western Union as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $307,224,000 after acquiring an additional 4,426,126 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Western Union by 202.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,661,732 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $60,014,000 after acquiring an additional 3,792,683 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $118,788,000 after acquiring an additional 3,146,395 shares during the last quarter. Brickwood Asset Management LLP bought a new position in Western Union in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,177,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 2,194,403 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of WU opened at $8.38 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. The Western Union Company has a 1 year low of $8.32 and a 1 year high of $13.12. The stock has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.68. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $9.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.12.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. Western Union's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Western Union's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WU shares. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock 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 target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, April 24th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Western Union in a report on Monday, June 2nd. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.

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