Pinebridge Investments L.P. Buys 88,985 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Pinebridge Investments L.P. raised its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 87.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 190,232 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 88,985 shares during the period. Pinebridge Investments L.P.’s holdings in Western Union were worth $2,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WU. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Western Union in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky bought a new position in shares of Western Union in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Western Union by 662.7% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,722 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 3,234 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in Western Union by 1,734.7% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 4,862 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 4,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Western Union in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on WU shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $10.50 price target (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.78.

Western Union Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE WU opened at $10.14 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. The Western Union Company has a twelve month low of $9.00 and a twelve month high of $13.60. The company’s fifty day moving average is $10.41 and its 200-day moving average is $10.65. The stock has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.69.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.01. Western Union had a return on equity of 96.90% and a net margin of 22.19%. The company had revenue of $983.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Equities research analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is 35.07%.

Western Union Company 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.