The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Sold by Farther Finance Advisors LLC

Farther Finance Advisors LLC cut its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 27.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 17,644 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 6,704 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $187,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 0.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,926,192 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $154,209,000 after buying an additional 52,081 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,489,079 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $132,384,000 after buying an additional 549,931 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 0.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,179,698 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $85,671,000 after buying an additional 25,458 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Western Union by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,305,933 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $66,843,000 after purchasing an additional 1,857,012 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Western Union by 20.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,698,559 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $20,264,000 after purchasing an additional 283,479 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WU shares. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays decreased their target price on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.11.

Western Union Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE WU opened at $10.73 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $10.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The Western Union Company has a 1 year low of $10.04 and a 1 year high of $14.00. The company has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.79.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 96.90% and a net margin of 22.19%. On average, analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.76%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.43%.

Western Union declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 buy up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.