International Assets Investment Management LLC Purchases 7,245 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 1,189.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,854 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,245 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $94,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 52.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Western Union during the first quarter valued at $37,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Western Union by 89.3% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,226 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 59.9% in the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Union during the second quarter valued at $141,000. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Price Performance

WU opened at $10.71 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The business has a fifty day moving average of $11.67 and a 200 day moving average of $12.23. The Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $10.68 and a 52-week high of $14.19. The stock has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.49, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.87.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 120.39% and a net margin of 16.07%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WU shares. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $13.00 price target on shares of Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. UBS Group cut their target price on Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Union has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.86.

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.