The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Sold by Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lowered its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 30.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,628,118 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 4,723,107 shares during the quarter. Western Union makes up about 1.2% of Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned about 3.15% of Western Union worth $129,876,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WU. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 7,569.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,905,891 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $194,405,000 after purchasing an additional 13,724,584 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in Western Union by 17.7% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 9,736,930 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $118,985,000 after buying an additional 1,462,853 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in Western Union by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 7,460,960 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $88,935,000 after buying an additional 1,627,822 shares during the period. Discerene Group LP lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Discerene Group LP now owns 6,682,192 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $93,417,000 after acquiring an additional 710,873 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,543,650 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $54,161,000 after acquiring an additional 721,331 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Western Union Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Western Union stock traded up $0.07 on Thursday, hitting $11.85. 3,067,849 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,993,918. The Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $10.92 and a 52-week high of $14.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.98. The stock has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.01, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.86. The firm's 50-day moving average is $12.10 and its 200 day moving average is $12.77.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 13.64% and a return on equity of 123.71%. The company's revenue was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.93%. Western Union's payout ratio is 55.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Western Union from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $13.00 price objective on shares of Western Union in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Union currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $13.14.

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.