Headlands Technologies LLC Sells 2,200 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Headlands Technologies LLC lessened its position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 47.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,419 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,200 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $26,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 50,387 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $534,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Western Union by 1.4% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 88,410 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,055,000 after buying an additional 1,230 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Western Union by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 61,606 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $653,000 after buying an additional 1,560 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in Western Union by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 45,825 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 1,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Western Union by 6.8% during the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 27,044 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 1,727 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WU has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Union presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.11.

Western Union Trading Down 5.9 %

Shares of WU stock opened at $9.12 on Wednesday. The Western Union Company has a 1-year low of $9.00 and a 1-year high of $13.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. The stock has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.34, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $10.58 and a 200-day moving average of $10.84.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.31%. Western Union’s payout ratio is currently 34.43%.

Western Union announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, December 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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.