JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 528,877 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 31.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,169,682 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 528,877 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.35% of Western Union worth $12,399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 13.5% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 38,328 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $457,000 after buying an additional 4,552 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Western Union by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 88,083 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,051,000 after purchasing an additional 7,270 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union in the third quarter worth $734,000. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in Western Union by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 29,204 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $348,000 after acquiring an additional 4,247 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in Western Union by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 205,562 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,452,000 after acquiring an additional 35,680 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WU has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $12.11.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of WU traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $9.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,725,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,669,483. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.20. The Western Union Company has a one year low of $9.00 and a one year high of $13.93. The stock's 50-day moving average is $10.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 3.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.69.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last released its 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 anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Western Union's dividend payout ratio is 34.43%.

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.