The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Stake Lowered by Dakota Wealth Management

Dakota Wealth Management trimmed its position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,881 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,313 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management’s holdings in Western Union were worth $539,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Union during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Quarry LP increased its position in Western Union by 52.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Western Union by 89.3% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,226 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,522 shares in the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new position in Western Union during the third quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 1,189.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,854 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 7,245 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of WU stock opened at $10.25 on Friday. The Western Union Company has a 12 month low of $10.19 and a 12 month high of $14.19. The company has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $10.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.02. Western Union had a net margin of 16.07% and a return on equity of 120.39%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Western Union announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, December 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd were paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.18%. Western Union’s payout ratio is currently 48.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays cut their price objective on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.63.

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.