Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $705,000 in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 66,523 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $705,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position 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 worth $20,264,000 after acquiring an additional 283,479 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Union during the 3rd quarter worth $734,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Western Union by 50.6% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 122,956 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,303,000 after purchasing an additional 41,317 shares during the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Western Union by 828.1% in the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 93,959 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $996,000 after buying an additional 83,835 shares during the period. Finally, Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Western Union in the fourth quarter valued at about $922,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on WU. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $12.11.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of Western Union stock traded down $0.51 during trading on Thursday, reaching $9.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,110,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,629,999. The firm has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a PE ratio of 3.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $10.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. The Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $9.00 and a fifty-two week high of $13.93.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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%. On average, analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Western Union announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, December 13th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.91%. Western Union's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.43%.

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.