The Western Union Company $WU Shares Acquired by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 19.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,966,409 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 645,451 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Western Union were worth $34,627,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Western Union by 15.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,902,175 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $68,989,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039,604 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Western Union by 197.3% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 6,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 4,324 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Western Union by 65.9% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 12,701 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 5,044 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 1st quarter valued at $79,000. Finally, German American Bancorp Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 1st quarter valued at $184,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WU shares. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Western Union in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $7.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on Western Union from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Western Union from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings cut Western Union from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Western Union from $9.50 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $8.35.

Western Union Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Western Union stock opened at $8.15 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.79. The stock has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.00, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.46. The Western Union Company has a 12-month low of $6.91 and a 12-month high of $10.35.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.15). Western Union had a return on equity of 55.94% and a net margin of 10.88%.The company had revenue of $963.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. Western Union’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.5%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Benjamin Carlton Adams sold 19,924 shares of Western Union stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.23, for a total transaction of $183,898.52. Following the sale, the insider owned 234,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,166,179.47. The trade was a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 3.29% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Company Profile

Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments. The company enables individuals and businesses to send and receive money through a variety of channels, including its vast agent network, online platforms, and mobile applications. Core services include person-to-person money transfers, business-to-business cross-border payments, bill payment services and prepaid card programs.

Through its digital offerings, Western Union provides customers with the ability to initiate transfers via its website and mobile app, as well as track transactions in real time.