Van ECK Associates Corp Reduces Stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Van ECK Associates Corp reduced its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 58.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 252,689 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 354,139 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.07% of Western Union worth $3,012,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in Western Union in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new position in Western Union during the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Western Union by 1,092.6% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,462 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 5,004 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Western Union in the 3rd quarter valued at about $83,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 23.2% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 6,793 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 1,278 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WU shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. William Blair restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Western Union from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt started coverage on shares of Western Union in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Union has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $13.61.

Western Union Stock Performance

NYSE WU traded up $0.12 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $13.43. 2,529,942 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,392,625. 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 capitalization of $4.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.88, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $13.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Western Union had a net margin of 14.12% and a return on equity of 120.76%. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Timothy P. Murphy acquired 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $12.85 per share, with a total value of $128,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company 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.