Wellington Management Group LLP Purchases 46,021 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 69.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 111,978 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 46,021 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP's holdings in Western Union were worth $1,187,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WU. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 2,886 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 662.7% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 267.5% in the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 3,833 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 2,790 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 1,734.7% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 4,862 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 4,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 217.8% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 8,047 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 5,515 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $10.50 price target (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research note 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 for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $10.78.

Western Union Stock Performance

NYSE:WU traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $9.47. 3,692,129 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,197,454. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $9.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.34. The Western Union Company has a one year low of $9.00 and a one year high of $13.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. The firm has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.68.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last released 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. Western Union's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Western Union's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.07%.

About Western Union

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.