The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 213,678 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 26,900 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.06% of Western Union worth $2,265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Union during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Western Union during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new position in shares of Western Union during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 1,734.7% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 4,862 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 4,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Union during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on WU. Barclays reduced 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. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.11.

Western Union Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Western Union stock opened at $10.82 on Friday. The firm 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 Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $10.04 and a fifty-two week high of $14.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $10.52 and a 200 day moving average of $11.11.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued 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 return on equity of 96.90% and a net margin of 22.19%. As a group, research analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

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

Western Union declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, December 13th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in 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 typically an indication 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.