Blue Trust Inc. Purchases 4,657 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 33.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,533 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,657 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Western Union were worth $196,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Western Union by 91.2% in the fourth quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 55,478 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $588,000 after acquiring an additional 26,467 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Western Union by 329.4% in the 4th quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 5,153 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 3,953 shares during the period. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Western Union by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 559,305 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,929,000 after purchasing an additional 40,447 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Western Union by 45.5% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 6,371 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 1,993 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Western Union by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 61,606 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $653,000 after buying an additional 1,560 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WU opened at $10.40 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The business has a 50-day moving average of $10.61 and a 200-day moving average of $11.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.33, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.85. The Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $10.04 and a fifty-two week high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a net margin of 16.07% and a return on equity of 120.39%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.04%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.21%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WU has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group lowered 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of 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. StockNews.com raised Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Union presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.63.

Western Union Company 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.