New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 26,900 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 11.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 213,678 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 26,900 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.06% of Western Union worth $2,265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 1,189.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,854 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 7,245 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Western Union by 50.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,121 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $514,000 after acquiring an additional 14,415 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in Western Union by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 185,573 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,274,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Western Union by 2,062.3% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 24,348 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 23,222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Western Union by 13.8% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 403,643 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,662,000 after purchasing an additional 49,036 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WU has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $12.11.

Western Union Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Western Union stock traded up $0.06 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $10.70. 3,713,155 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,544,544. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $10.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. The Western Union Company has a twelve month low of $10.04 and a twelve month high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last posted its 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.79%. Western Union's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.43%.

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

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.