The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Stake Lowered by Nuveen Asset Management LLC

Nuveen Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU – Get Rating) by 8.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,584,265 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 139,274 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $21,388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Western Union by 8.9% in the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 281,100 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,795,000 after buying an additional 22,890 shares during the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 86,133 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,163,000 after purchasing an additional 2,621 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC boosted its holdings in Western Union by 11.3% in the third quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 12,718 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 1,296 shares in the last quarter. Cipher Capital LP bought a new position in Western Union during the third quarter valued at about $1,264,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 27.1% in the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 57,286 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $773,000 after buying an additional 12,230 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.66% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of WU stock opened at $12.86 on Friday. The Western Union Company has a one year low of $12.27 and a one year high of $19.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.48, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $13.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.11. The stock has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.87.

Western Union (NYSE:WU – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 7th. The credit services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.03). Western Union had a net margin of 20.35% and a return on equity of 151.54%. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. Western Union’s revenue was down 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.31%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WU. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 9th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Sunday, November 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Union presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.30.

About Western Union

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The Western Union Co is a holding company, which engages in the provision of money transfer and payment services. It operates through the following segments: Consumer-to-Consumer, Business Solutions, and Other. The Consumer-to-Consumer segment facilitates money transfers between two consumers. The Business Solutions segment offers payment and foreign exchange solutions, cross-border, and cross-currency transactions for small and medium size enterprises and other organizations and individuals.