Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Has $30.14 Million Stock Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,528,570 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 188,462 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.69% of Western Union worth $30,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Western Union by 17.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,882,154 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $130,247,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439,595 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Western Union by 10.5% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,498,861 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $151,555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,088,247 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new stake in Western Union in the third quarter valued at approximately $13,180,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its stake in Western Union by 268.2% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 1,224,532 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $16,139,000 after acquiring an additional 891,949 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Western Union by 969.5% in the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 765,613 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,192,000 after acquiring an additional 694,026 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WU shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Western Union from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Monness Crespi & Hardt initiated coverage on Western Union in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Western Union from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.25.

Insider Activity

In other Western Union news, Director Timothy P. Murphy purchased 10,000 shares of Western Union stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $12.85 per share, with a total value of $128,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 56,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $722,234.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of Western Union stock traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $13.30. The company had a trading volume of 3,867,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,434,970. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.92, a P/E/G ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50 day moving average of $13.37 and a 200 day moving average of $12.60. The Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $10.37 and a 52-week high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.37. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 113.63% and a net margin of 14.37%. The company’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.07%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.95%.

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.