21,101 Shares in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Bought by Maia Wealth LLC

Maia Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 21,101 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WU. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Western Union during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Western Union during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new position in Western Union during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in Western Union by 1,734.7% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 4,862 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 4,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Western Union during the 4th quarter worth $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on WU shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of 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 reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, December 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.11.

Western Union Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:WU opened at $10.74 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of 3.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $10.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.10. The Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $10.04 and a fifty-two week high of $14.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.75%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.43%.

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.