AQR Capital Management LLC Cuts Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,022,811 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,086,817 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 3.26% of Western Union worth $133,266,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Western Union by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 841,034 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,057,000 after purchasing an additional 138,915 shares in the last quarter. Insight Folios Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union during the first quarter worth approximately $5,388,000. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Western Union by 24.2% in the first quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 559,248 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,818,000 after acquiring an additional 109,014 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Western Union by 5.5% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,252,897 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,516,000 after acquiring an additional 65,087 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Western Union by 7,569.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,905,891 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $194,405,000 after acquiring an additional 13,724,584 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on WU shares. Citigroup restated 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 target price on Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.14.

Western Union Trading Up 2.4 %

NYSE:WU opened at $12.18 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.98. The Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $10.92 and a 52-week high of $14.19. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $11.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.65. The company has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a PE ratio of 7.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.86.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its 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). Western Union had a return on equity of 123.71% and a net margin of 13.64%. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.72%. Western Union’s payout ratio is 55.62%.

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.