The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 30.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 783,934 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 343,369 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.23% of Western Union worth $9,352,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Western Union by 52.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 89.3% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,226 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 59.9% during the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Western Union by 1,189.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,854 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 7,245 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WU. StockNews.com raised Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Union currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.86.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of Western Union stock opened at $10.86 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The Western Union Company has a 12 month low of $10.51 and a 12 month high of $14.19. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.09. The stock has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a PE ratio of 5.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.87.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.02. Western Union had a net margin of 16.07% and a return on equity of 120.39%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.