The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Sold by Burney Co.

Burney Co. lowered its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 75.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 102,993 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 314,277 shares during the period. Burney Co.'s holdings in Western Union were worth $1,092,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in Western Union by 30.7% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 348,850 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,263,000 after purchasing an additional 82,018 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Union during the third quarter valued at approximately $8,124,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Western Union by 293.3% in the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 198,002 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,362,000 after acquiring an additional 147,658 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 523,676 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $6,247,000 after purchasing an additional 83,715 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Western Union by 20.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,698,559 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $20,264,000 after buying an additional 283,479 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Union Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE WU traded down $0.11 on Friday, hitting $10.44. The company had a trading volume of 4,555,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,925,096. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The Western Union Company has a 12-month low of $10.19 and a 12-month high of $14.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.35, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50 day moving average of $10.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.46.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.02. Western Union had a return on equity of 120.39% and a net margin of 16.07%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. Western Union's quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, December 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.01%. Western Union's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WU shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Western Union from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays decreased 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $12.63.

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.