Arnhold LLC Acquires Shares of 271,020 The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Arnhold LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 271,020 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,873,000. Arnhold LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Western Union at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Western Union during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new stake in Western Union during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 662.7% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,722 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 3,234 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Western Union by 267.5% in the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 3,833 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 2,790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in Western Union by 1,734.7% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 4,862 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 4,597 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on WU. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Western Union from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $7.50 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.78.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WU traded down $0.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $10.14. 7,455,547 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,769,948. The firm has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of 3.71, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.69. 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 12 month low of $9.00 and a 12 month high of $13.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $10.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.66.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.01. Western Union had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. The company had revenue of $983.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Research analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.27%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Western Union's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.07%.

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.