Sterling Capital Management LLC Has $187,000 Stock Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Sterling Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 79.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,662 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 66,682 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Western Union were worth $187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WU. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Western Union by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,055,661 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $403,390,000 after buying an additional 317,711 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,489,079 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $132,384,000 after acquiring an additional 549,931 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 32.1% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,021,308 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $95,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,194,403 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Western Union by 41.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,305,933 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $66,843,000 after acquiring an additional 1,857,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Western Union by 202.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,661,732 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $60,014,000 after purchasing an additional 3,792,683 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered Western Union from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $7.50 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $10.50 price objective (down from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Union has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $11.20.

Western Union Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE WU traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $10.19. 10,438,266 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,770,935. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.69. The company's 50-day moving average is $10.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.69. The Western Union Company has a one year low of $9.00 and a one year high of $13.93.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $983.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. On average, analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.22%. Western Union's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.