Quantbot Technologies LP Sells 66,022 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Quantbot Technologies LP trimmed its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 21.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 241,052 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 66,022 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP owned about 0.07% of Western Union worth $2,555,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Western Union by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 50,387 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $534,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 1.4% during the third 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 last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 61,606 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $653,000 after buying an additional 1,560 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 45,825 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $486,000 after buying an additional 1,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 6.8% during the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 27,044 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 1,727 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on WU shares. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target 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. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.11.

Western Union Stock Performance

WU opened at $10.64 on Friday. The Western Union Company has a 12-month low of $10.04 and a 12-month high of $14.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a PE ratio of 3.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $10.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.00.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.84%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.43%.

Western Union announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, December 13th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.