Perigon Wealth Management LLC Invests $144,000 in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Perigon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 13,631 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $144,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $8,124,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 293.3% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 198,002 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,362,000 after purchasing an additional 147,658 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Western Union by 20.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,698,559 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $20,264,000 after acquiring an additional 283,479 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in Western Union by 19.0% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 523,676 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,247,000 after acquiring an additional 83,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union during the 3rd quarter valued at $734,000. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Union Price Performance

NYSE:WU opened at $10.28 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a PE ratio of 5.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.85. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.30. 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 52 week low of $10.04 and a 52 week high of $14.19.

Western Union declared that its Board of Directors has approved 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 typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.15%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WU has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays dropped their price target on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.63.

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.