The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Sold by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. reduced its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 22.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 244,479 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 71,207 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned about 0.07% of Western Union worth $2,611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 50,387 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in Western Union by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 238,876 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,849,000 after purchasing an additional 1,205 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 88,410 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,055,000 after buying an additional 1,230 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 13,177 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $157,000 after buying an additional 1,508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Western Union by 89.3% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,226 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,522 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WU. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.11.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WU opened at $10.60 on Monday. The Western Union Company has a 12 month low of $10.04 and a 12 month high of $14.19. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.24. The company has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a PE ratio of 3.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share 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, equities analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.43%.

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

Western Union 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.