Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 974 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Securian Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,749 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 974 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Western Union were worth $367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in Western Union by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 17,854,661 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $235,324,000 after acquiring an additional 408,661 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Western Union by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,498,861 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $151,555,000 after buying an additional 1,088,247 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Western Union by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,882,154 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $130,247,000 after buying an additional 1,439,595 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in Western Union by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 8,087,155 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $96,399,000 after purchasing an additional 160,735 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in Western Union by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 6,839,743 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $90,148,000 after purchasing an additional 605,620 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy P. Murphy acquired 10,000 shares of Western Union stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $12.85 per share, with a total value of $128,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 56,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $722,234.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Western Union Price Performance

NYSE WU opened at $12.79 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.38. The Western Union Company has a 12 month low of $10.92 and a 12 month high of $14.19. The stock has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.57, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50 day moving average is $13.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.70.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Western Union’s payout ratio is currently 55.62%.

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.