Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Sells 168,396 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH reduced its position in The Western Union Company by 28.7%, owning 419,129 shares after selling 168,396 shares in the 1st quarter.
• Western Union announced a quarterly dividend of $0.235 per share, yielding 10.95%, with the most recent payout made on June 30th.
• The stock has faced analyst downgrades, with several firms adjusting their target prices downward and issuing mostly hold or sell ratings.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH decreased its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 28.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 419,129 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 168,396 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.13% of Western Union worth $4,434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its stake in Western Union by 1,487.6% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 3,080 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 2,886 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Western Union by 80.2% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,264 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in Western Union by 662.7% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,722 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 3,234 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Western Union by 188.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,803 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC grew its stake in Western Union by 267.5% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 3,833 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 2,790 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WU. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $9.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Western Union in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "hold" rating and a $9.00 target price on the stock. Barclays set a $8.00 price target on Western Union in a research report on Thursday. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their target price on Western Union from $7.50 to $7.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Western Union in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Union has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $8.61.

Western Union Stock Performance

Western Union stock traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $8.15. 3,499,584 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,193,192. The Western Union Company has a one year low of $7.99 and a one year high of $12.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $8.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of 3.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.65.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.02). Western Union had a return on equity of 66.11% and a net margin of 21.83%. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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 was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.54%. Western Union's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.61%.

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.