1834 Investment Advisors Co. Lowers Stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

1834 Investment Advisors Co. trimmed its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 10.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 483,107 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 57,281 shares during the quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co.’s holdings in Western Union were worth $5,121,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in Western Union during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 52.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in Western Union by 89.3% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,226 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,522 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Western Union in the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC raised its position in Western Union by 329.4% during the 4th quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 5,153 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 3,953 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group cut their target price on Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.63.

Western Union Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:WU opened at $10.25 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a PE ratio of 5.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.85. The Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $10.19 and a 52-week high of $14.19. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.02. Western Union had a net margin of 16.07% and a return on equity of 120.39%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. Western Union’s payout ratio is 48.21%.

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

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.