California Public Employees Retirement System Purchases 102,823 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,768,627 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 102,823 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Western Union were worth $18,747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky bought a new stake in shares of Western Union in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 1,734.7% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 4,862 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 4,597 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Western Union in the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC grew its position in Western Union by 329.4% in the 4th quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 5,153 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 3,953 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Trading Down 3.6 %

WU stock opened at $10.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.71, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The Western Union Company has a 1-year low of $9.92 and a 1-year high of $13.93. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.90.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted 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 net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. Research analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s payout ratio is presently 34.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WU. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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. Susquehanna cut 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 report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.11.

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.