First Trust Advisors LP Has $37.69 Million Stock Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 15.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,555,953 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 487,865 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 1.05% of Western Union worth $37,693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WU. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Western Union in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky bought a new stake in Western Union during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in Western Union by 662.7% during the 4th 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. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in Western Union by 1,734.7% in 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 buying an additional 4,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Union in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WU has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $10.50 price target (down from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price 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, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $10.78.

Western Union Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Western Union stock traded down $0.04 on Friday, reaching $10.14. 7,455,547 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,769,948. The Western Union Company has a one year low of $9.00 and a one year high of $13.60. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $10.41 and a 200 day moving average of $10.66. The company has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.71, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.69.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $983.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.01 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued 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 payout ratio is currently 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.