Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. cut its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 16.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 400,751 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 79,395 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Western Union worth $4,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WU. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Western Union by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 111,721 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,184,000 after acquiring an additional 15,550 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Union during the 4th quarter worth approximately $126,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Western Union by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 118,134 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,252,000 after buying an additional 10,306 shares in the last quarter. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Western Union in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $922,000. Finally, San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Western Union during the 4th quarter valued at $703,000. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Union Stock Performance

NYSE:WU opened at $10.26 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $10.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.43. The Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $10.19 and a fifty-two week high of $14.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 120.39% and a net margin of 16.07%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. Analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Western Union declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, December 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.17%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. Western Union’s payout ratio is currently 48.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WU shares. Barclays cut their price target on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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 research report on Monday, December 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.63.

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.