Cetera Investment Advisers Sells 28,289 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Cetera Investment Advisers trimmed its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 26.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 77,330 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 28,289 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Western Union were worth $945,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 52.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 89.3% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,226 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Union Stock Performance

NYSE:WU opened at $11.94 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $11.87 and its 200 day moving average is $12.45. The Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $10.92 and a fifty-two week high of $14.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a PE ratio of 7.32, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.98, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.01). Western Union had a net margin of 13.64% and a return on equity of 123.71%. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.88%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Western Union’s payout ratio is 57.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WU has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of Western Union in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.14.

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.