The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Bought by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,103,296 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 81,343 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Western Union were worth $13,061,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in Western Union by 30.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 348,850 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,263,000 after purchasing an additional 82,018 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union in the third quarter valued at $8,124,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Western Union by 293.3% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 198,002 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,362,000 after buying an additional 147,658 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in Western Union by 19.0% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 523,676 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,247,000 after acquiring an additional 83,715 shares during the period. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN raised its position in Western Union by 11.9% in the third quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 704,054 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,399,000 after acquiring an additional 74,742 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE WU opened at $10.71 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $11.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.73. The stock has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.49, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.86. The Western Union Company has a twelve month low of $10.51 and a twelve month high of $14.19. 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 (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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.02. Western Union had a return on equity of 120.39% and a net margin of 16.07%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. Western Union’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Western Union announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, December 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 23rd. Western Union’s payout ratio is presently 48.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WU. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research 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 on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average 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.