Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 343,369 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 30.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 783,934 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 343,369 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Western Union worth $9,352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Western Union by 30.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 348,850 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,263,000 after acquiring an additional 82,018 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new stake in Western Union in the 3rd quarter valued at $8,124,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 147,658 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings 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, OLD National Bancorp IN raised its position in shares of Western Union by 11.9% during the third quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 704,054 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $8,399,000 after buying an additional 74,742 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on 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. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Western Union from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $12.63.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of WU traded up $0.03 on Tuesday, hitting $10.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,880,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,180,684. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $10.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $10.39 and a fifty-two week high of $14.19. The company has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a PE ratio of 5.44, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.86.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 16.07% and a return on equity of 120.39%. The company's revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.87%. Western Union's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.21%.

Western Union announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, December 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally 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.