LSV Asset Management Has $96.40 Million Stock Holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,087,155 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 160,735 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned approximately 2.22% of Western Union worth $96,399,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Western Union by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,882,154 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $130,247,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439,595 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Western Union by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,498,861 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $151,555,000 after buying an additional 1,088,247 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new position in shares of Western Union during the 3rd quarter valued at about $13,180,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 268.2% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 1,224,532 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $16,139,000 after acquiring an additional 891,949 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 969.5% in the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 765,613 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $10,192,000 after acquiring an additional 694,026 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt began coverage on shares of Western Union in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $13.61.

Western Union Trading Up 2.8 %

WU traded up $0.37 during trading on Friday, hitting $13.37. 4,053,585 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,757,889. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.38. The Western Union Company has a 1 year low of $10.92 and a 1 year high of $14.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $13.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.62. The firm has a market cap of $4.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.84.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 14.12% and a return on equity of 120.76%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.03%. Western Union's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.62%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy P. Murphy bought 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.85 per share, for a total transaction of $128,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 56,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $722,234.25. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

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.