The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Sold by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lowered its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 6.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,830,744 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 190,737 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned about 0.84% of Western Union worth $34,592,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 500.5% in the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,312 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,927 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Western Union during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Western Union in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union during the first quarter worth about $41,000. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WU. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI upped 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. StockNews.com upgraded Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.43.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WU traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $11.77. 4,939,515 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,081,328. 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 $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.93, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $12.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.98, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 123.71% and a net margin of 13.64%. The company’s revenue was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.99%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.