Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Invests $6.23 Million in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 587,525 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,228,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.17% of Western Union at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WU. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $307,224,000 after purchasing an additional 4,426,126 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position 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 worth $60,014,000 after buying an additional 3,792,683 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $118,788,000 after buying an additional 3,146,395 shares in the last quarter. Brickwood Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union during the 4th quarter valued at $31,177,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 32.1% during the 4th 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. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Western Union Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE WU traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $9.31. The company had a trading volume of 5,391,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,176,215. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.20. The Western Union Company has a twelve month low of $9.00 and a twelve month high of $13.12. The stock's 50 day moving average is $9.79 and its 200-day moving average is $10.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of 3.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.72.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $983.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. 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 will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.10%. Western Union's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered shares of 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. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Western Union in a research report on Monday. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.