Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Has $343,000 Stock Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lowered its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,315 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 5,037 shares during the quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Western Union were worth $343,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Union in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Western Union during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new stake in Western Union during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in Western Union by 1,734.7% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 4,862 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 4,597 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Western Union during the 4th quarter worth $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WU has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Union currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.11.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WU opened at $10.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.96, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $10.52 and a 200-day moving average of $11.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.10. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Friday, December 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s payout ratio is 34.43%.

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.