Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $22.03 Million Stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU – Get Rating) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,600,084 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,975 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Western Union were worth $22,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Western Union by 7,000.0% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 2,170 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Western Union by 157.6% during the fourth quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,540 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,554 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Western Union by 38.5% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,165 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 879 shares in the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Western Union during the fourth quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Ellevest Inc. raised its stake in Western Union by 172.9% during the third quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 5,273 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 3,341 shares in the last quarter. 97.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Union Price Performance

Western Union stock opened at $12.22 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.87. The stock has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.11 and a beta of 0.85. The Western Union Company has a 12-month low of $10.07 and a 12-month high of $18.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.45.

Western Union (NYSE:WU – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The credit services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.09. Western Union had a return on equity of 128.52% and a net margin of 17.65%. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $997.07 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.61 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, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 15th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WU has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. 3M reiterated a “maintains” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Western Union from $12.50 to $11.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Western Union from $15.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. StockNews.com began coverage on Western Union in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.70.

Western Union Company Profile

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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.