The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Lowers Holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 27.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 272,722 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 102,981 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.08% of Western Union worth $3,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 52.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,588 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Western Union by 89.3% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,226 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,522 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Western Union by 31.1% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,316 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 1,024 shares during the period. Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new position in Western Union in the third quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Western Union by 1,189.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,854 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 7,245 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on WU. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Union from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. 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 report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.86.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of WU stock traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $10.80. 4,021,466 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,909,382. The company's 50 day moving average is $11.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.85. The company has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.86. 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 1 year low of $10.51 and a 1 year high of $14.19.

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

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.