Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 8.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,103,296 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 81,343 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.33% of Western Union worth $13,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Western Union by 1.4% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 88,410 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union during the 3rd quarter valued at about $310,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Union in the 3rd quarter valued at about $381,000. Invst LLC grew its position in Western Union by 4.5% in the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 118,711 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,416,000 after acquiring an additional 5,143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Western Union by 0.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,179,698 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $85,671,000 after acquiring an additional 25,458 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Western Union Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of WU traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $10.71. 12,760,139 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,192,763. The company has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.49, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The Western Union Company has a 52 week low of $10.51 and a 52 week high of $14.19. The company's 50 day moving average is $11.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.73.

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

Western Union announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, December 13th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.78%. Western Union's payout ratio is 48.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Western Union from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays reduced 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 report on Friday, December 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Union has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $12.63.

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.