The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Sold by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC reduced its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 737,609 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 54,106 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $7,701,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WU. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Union in the third quarter worth $8,124,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Western Union by 293.3% in the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 198,002 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,362,000 after buying an additional 147,658 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Western Union by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,698,559 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $20,264,000 after buying an additional 283,479 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 19.0% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 523,676 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,247,000 after acquiring an additional 83,715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC bought a new position in Western Union during the third quarter valued at about $734,000. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Trading Up 3.2 %

WU stock opened at $10.84 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $10.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $10.04 and a fifty-two week high of $14.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.85.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. Analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, December 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.67%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on WU shares. Barclays decreased their target price on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.11.

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.