The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Sold by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 386,962 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 17,461 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned 0.11% of Western Union worth $4,102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WU. State Street Corp boosted its position in Western Union by 0.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,926,192 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $154,209,000 after purchasing an additional 52,081 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,179,698 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $85,671,000 after buying an additional 25,458 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 41.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,305,933 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $66,843,000 after buying an additional 1,857,012 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in Western Union by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,880,800 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $22,438,000 after acquiring an additional 84,579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Western Union by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,698,559 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $20,264,000 after acquiring an additional 283,479 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on WU shares. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.11.

Western Union Stock Performance

Western Union stock opened at $10.76 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $10.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. The Western Union Company has a 52 week low of $10.04 and a 52 week high of $14.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.94, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.85.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, December 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.74%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.43%.

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.