Savant Capital LLC Takes Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Savant Capital LLC purchased a new stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 73,063 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $774,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 1,734.7% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 4,862 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 4,597 shares during the period. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in Western Union by 129.5% during the 4th quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 71,855 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $762,000 after buying an additional 40,548 shares during the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky purchased a new position in Western Union during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Western Union during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Western Union during the 4th quarter worth $144,000. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note 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 note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.11.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of WU stock opened at $10.52 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a PE ratio of 3.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.17. 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 52-week low of $10.04 and a 52-week high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.8 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.94%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.43%.

Western Union declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Friday, December 13th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management 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.