Inceptionr LLC Acquires Shares of 30,912 The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Inceptionr LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 30,912 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $328,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Western Union in the fourth quarter valued at about $705,000. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in Western Union during the 4th quarter worth approximately $186,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Western Union by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,489,079 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $132,384,000 after purchasing an additional 549,931 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Western Union during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $192,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Western Union by 171.5% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 17,777 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $188,000 after buying an additional 11,229 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.11.

Western Union Stock Up 5.0 %

Shares of Western Union stock opened at $11.62 on Monday. The Western Union Company has a twelve month low of $10.04 and a twelve month high of $14.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.25, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.79. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.08.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its 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 net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. Equities research analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, December 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.43%.

About Western Union

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.