Kingsview Wealth Management LLC Has $494,000 Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 76.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,645 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 151,357 shares during the quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Western Union were worth $494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WU. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Western Union in the 3rd quarter valued at $11,726,000. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Western Union in the 3rd quarter valued at $8,124,000. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Western Union in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,190,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Western Union in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,663,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Western Union by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,698,559 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $20,264,000 after purchasing an additional 283,479 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WU shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Western Union from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.11.

Western Union Stock Performance

Western Union stock traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $10.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,494,284 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,684,605. The firm has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.85, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $10.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.15. 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 twelve month low of $10.04 and a twelve month high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. Sell-side analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Western Union's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.43%.

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

Western Union Company 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.