MML Investors Services LLC Buys 4,247 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

MML Investors Services LLC boosted its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 29,204 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,247 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $348,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Western Union by 52.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of Western Union by 1.1% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 80,813 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $979,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 31.1% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,316 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in Western Union by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 238,876 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,849,000 after buying an additional 1,205 shares during the period. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in Western Union by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 13,177 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $157,000 after buying an additional 1,508 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WU has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays decreased their price target on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.63.

Western Union Stock Performance

Western Union stock opened at $10.58 on Wednesday. The Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $10.39 and a fifty-two week high of $14.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $10.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.70.

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

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 23rd. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.21%.

Western Union announced that its board has authorized a stock 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 repurchase up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership 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.