Essex Financial Services Inc. Reduces Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Essex Financial Services Inc. reduced its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,969 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,465 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Western Union were worth $508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WU. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 0.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,926,192 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $154,209,000 after purchasing an additional 52,081 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Western Union by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,179,698 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $85,671,000 after buying an additional 25,458 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in Western Union by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,880,800 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $22,438,000 after acquiring an additional 84,579 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Western Union by 20.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,698,559 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,264,000 after acquiring an additional 283,479 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 8.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,103,296 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $13,061,000 after acquiring an additional 81,343 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Western Union stock opened at $10.25 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. The company has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.75, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $10.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.21. The Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $10.04 and a 52-week high of $14.19.

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

Western Union announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program 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 reacquire up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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 paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.17%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WU has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, February 6th. 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 for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.11.

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.