The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Holdings Raised by Virtu Financial LLC

Virtu Financial LLC increased its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 92.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,314 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,388 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $650,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WU. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of 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 worth $66,843,000 after acquiring an additional 1,857,012 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Western Union in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $11,726,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Western Union by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,489,079 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $132,384,000 after purchasing an additional 549,931 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Western Union during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,663,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 283,479 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WU has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price target on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.11.

Western Union Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of WU stock opened at $10.49 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $10.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. The Western Union Company has a 12 month low of $10.04 and a 12 month high of $14.00. The company has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of 3.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.43%.

Western Union announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, December 13th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Union 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.