Intech Investment Management LLC Buys 260,236 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 1,735.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 275,227 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 260,236 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $3,283,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in Western Union by 4.5% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 323,059 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,511,000 after acquiring an additional 13,798 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union during the first quarter worth about $37,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Western Union by 7,569.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,905,891 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $194,405,000 after purchasing an additional 13,724,584 shares during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new position in Western Union in the 1st quarter worth approximately $204,000. Finally, Econ Financial Services Corp bought a new position in Western Union in the 1st quarter worth approximately $511,000. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WU shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.86.

Western Union Stock Performance

Western Union stock opened at $11.06 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $11.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The company has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a PE ratio of 5.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.87. The Western Union Company has a twelve month low of $10.51 and a twelve month high of $14.19.

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

Western Union Company 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.