Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV Cuts Holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV lessened its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 82,948 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 7,936 shares during the period. Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV’s holdings in Western Union were worth $879,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its stake in Western Union by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 149,688 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,587,000 after buying an additional 13,333 shares in the last quarter. Callan Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 4th quarter worth approximately $138,000. Morningstar Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 4th quarter worth approximately $163,000. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,113,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 603.2% in the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 314,892 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,338,000 after acquiring an additional 270,111 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:WU opened at $10.63 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 52 week low of $10.04 and a 52 week high of $14.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a fifty day moving average of $10.54 and a 200 day moving average of $11.13.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a return on equity of 96.90% and a net margin of 22.19%. On average, research analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, December 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.84%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.