Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 55.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 441,967 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 540,547 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned about 0.12% of Western Union worth $5,268,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 1,092.6% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,462 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 5,004 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union during the third quarter valued at about $83,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 23.2% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 6,793 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 1,278 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on WU. William Blair reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt started coverage on shares of Western Union in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Western Union from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Western Union from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued 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 target price of $13.61.

Western Union Trading Down 0.4 %

WU traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $13.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,915,940 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,413,474. The Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $10.92 and a fifty-two week high of $14.19. The stock has a market cap of $4.50 billion, a PE ratio of 7.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.84. The business's 50-day moving average is $13.47 and its 200-day moving average is $12.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.38, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

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

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.06%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Western Union's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.62%.

Insider Transactions at Western Union

In other Western Union news, Director Timothy P. Murphy bought 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $12.85 per share, with a total value of $128,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 56,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $722,234.25. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

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.