Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Buys 452,398 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 38.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,630,183 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 452,398 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned 0.48% of Western Union worth $17,280,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WU. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Western Union by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 50,387 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 1.4% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 88,410 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,055,000 after buying an additional 1,230 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 61,606 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $653,000 after buying an additional 1,560 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of Western Union by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 45,825 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 1,565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Western Union by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 27,044 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 1,727 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

WU has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays reduced their target price on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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, Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.11.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of WU stock traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $10.45. 1,233,013 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,406,807. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $10.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.92. The company has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.79. The Western Union Company has a 12-month low of $10.04 and a 12-month high of $13.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a return on equity of 96.90% and a net margin of 22.19%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.00%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Western Union's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.43%.

Western Union declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback 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 repurchase up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.