Cwm LLC Has $312,000 Holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Cwm LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 33.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,148 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,554 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Western Union by 7,569.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,905,891 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $194,405,000 after purchasing an additional 13,724,584 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in Western Union by 17.7% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 9,736,930 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $118,985,000 after purchasing an additional 1,462,853 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 62.8% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,730,450 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $45,586,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439,310 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 52.0% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,337,466 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,784,000 after buying an additional 1,142,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new position in Western Union during the 1st quarter worth about $12,051,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Price Performance

WU opened at $11.59 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.86. 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 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.98. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.41.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 13.64% and a return on equity of 123.71%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WU. StockNews.com raised shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $13.00 price target on shares of Western Union in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.00.

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.