The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 776,212 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 7,722 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of Western Union worth $8,228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Western Union during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Western Union during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new stake in Western Union in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 4,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new position in Western Union in the third quarter valued at about $60,000. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.11.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of WU opened at $10.82 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $10.52 and a 200-day moving average of $11.11. 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 Western Union Company has a 52 week low of $10.04 and a 52 week high of $14.19. The firm has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.96, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.85.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is 34.43%.

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