WBI Investments LLC Buys 29,356 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

WBI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 52.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 85,843 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 29,356 shares during the period. WBI Investments LLC's holdings in Western Union were worth $910,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WU. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Western Union by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 68,237 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $723,000 after acquiring an additional 6,727 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Western Union by 50.6% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 122,956 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,303,000 after acquiring an additional 41,317 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Western Union in the 4th quarter worth $705,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Western Union by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 480,543 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $5,094,000 after acquiring an additional 76,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Western Union by 145.1% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 72,795 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $786,000 after acquiring an additional 43,095 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on WU. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of 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. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $10.50 target price (down from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $10.78.

Western Union Stock Down 2.2%

NYSE WU traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $9.42. 6,225,905 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,097,939. The Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $9.00 and a 52-week high of $13.12. The firm has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a PE ratio of 3.45, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $983.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.01 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. Western Union's revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.98%. Western Union's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.07%.

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.