AlphaMark Advisors LLC Purchases 3,953 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

AlphaMark Advisors LLC increased its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 329.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,153 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,953 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $55,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 62.8% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,730,450 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $45,586,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439,310 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Western Union during the third quarter worth $11,726,000. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new position in Western Union during the third quarter valued at $8,124,000. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union in the third quarter valued at $6,190,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,663,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:WU opened at $10.25 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.38. The Western Union Company has a one year low of $10.19 and a one year high of $14.19. The firm has a market cap 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

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

Western Union declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, December 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.63.

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.