Swiss National Bank Sells 85,000 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Swiss National Bank decreased its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 738,100 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 85,000 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.20% of Western Union worth $8,798,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 56,476 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $744,000 after buying an additional 791 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in shares of Western Union by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 169,552 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,235,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 6,793 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 106,623 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 92,299 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,216,000 after purchasing an additional 2,189 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy P. Murphy bought 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $722,234.25. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

Western Union Stock Performance

Western Union stock traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $13.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,472,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,267,980. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.38, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.85, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.84. The Western Union Company has a 1-year low of $10.92 and a 1-year high of $14.19. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $13.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.64.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.01 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 14.12% and a return on equity of 120.76%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

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.