Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Raises Stock Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 351.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 959,162 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 746,625 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned 0.26% of Western Union worth $11,434,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in Western Union by 2.3% in the third quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 17,854,661 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $235,324,000 after purchasing an additional 408,661 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $151,555,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088,247 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,882,154 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $130,247,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439,595 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 8,087,155 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $96,399,000 after purchasing an additional 160,735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 6,839,743 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $90,148,000 after purchasing an additional 605,620 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Union Stock Down 0.4 %

WU stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $13.14. The stock had a trading volume of 1,751,312 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,402,289. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $13.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.66. The Western Union Company has a 1-year low of $10.92 and a 1-year high of $14.19. The company has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.78, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.38.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.05. Western Union had a return on equity of 120.76% and a net margin of 14.12%. The business 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 company posted $0.43 EPS. The business's revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.15%. Western Union's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt assumed coverage on shares of Western Union in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. William Blair reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays increased their price objective on Western Union from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $13.61.

Insider Transactions at Western Union

In related news, Director Timothy P. Murphy purchased 10,000 shares of Western Union stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $12.85 per share, with a total value of $128,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 56,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $722,234.25. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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.