PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Lowers Stock Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. decreased its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 84,508 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 7,791 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Western Union were worth $1,007,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in shares of Western Union by 0.5% during the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 169,552 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,235,000 after buying an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Western Union by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 44,100 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $526,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Western Union by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 32,277 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Western Union during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 37,535 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Price Performance

Western Union stock opened at $12.34 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.85. The Western Union Company has a 12-month low of $10.92 and a 12-month high of $14.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.38. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.83.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.05. Western Union had a net margin of 14.12% and a return on equity of 120.76%. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. Western Union’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.62%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on WU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Monness Crespi & Hardt began coverage on shares of Western Union in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.61.

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.