Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Buys New Stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 25,200 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $300,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Western Union during the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Western Union by 1,092.6% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,462 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 5,004 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Union during the 3rd quarter valued at about $83,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Western Union by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 6,793 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 1,278 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Timothy P. Murphy bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $12.85 per share, with a total value of $128,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 56,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $722,234.25. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of Western Union stock opened at $13.37 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.38, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.62. The Western Union Company has a twelve month low of $10.92 and a twelve month high of $14.19. The firm has a market cap of $4.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.84.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 14.12% and a return on equity of 120.76%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Union currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.61.

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.