Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Has $7.70 Million Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC reduced its position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 737,609 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 54,106 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned about 0.22% of Western Union worth $7,701,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WU. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in Western Union in the 4th quarter valued at about $113,000. Savant Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Western Union in the 4th quarter valued at about $774,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in Western Union by 1,734.7% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 4,862 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 4,597 shares in the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in Western Union by 129.5% in the 4th quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 71,855 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $762,000 after acquiring an additional 40,548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new stake in Western Union in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on WU. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Union from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Three research 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $12.11.

Western Union Stock Performance

NYSE WU traded down $0.11 on Friday, hitting $10.63. 6,059,447 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,698,688. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The business's fifty day moving average is $10.54 and its 200 day moving average is $11.14. The Western Union Company has a 52 week low of $10.04 and a 52 week high of $14.19. The company has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a PE ratio of 3.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.85.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a return on equity of 96.90% and a net margin of 22.19%. Research analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, December 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Western Union's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.43%.

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.