Wells Fargo & Company MN Grows Stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 43.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 297,584 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 89,901 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned about 0.09% of Western Union worth $3,154,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $403,390,000 after buying an additional 317,711 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Western Union by 4.6% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in Western Union by 32.1% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,021,308 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $95,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,194,403 shares during the period. 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, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Western Union in the fourth quarter worth about $22,984,000. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Union Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WU traded down $0.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $10.14. The stock had a trading volume of 7,455,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,769,948. The Western Union Company has a 52 week low of $9.00 and a 52 week high of $13.60. The firm's fifty day moving average is $10.41 and its 200 day moving average is $10.66. The stock has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.20.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $983.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Western Union's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on WU shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered Western Union from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $7.50 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.78.

About Western Union

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.