25,200 Shares in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Acquired by Axxcess Wealth Management LLC

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 25,200 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $300,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in Western Union by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 8,087,155 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $96,399,000 after purchasing an additional 160,735 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Western Union by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 33,381 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 2,551 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Western Union by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 948,462 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,306,000 after purchasing an additional 11,720 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in Western Union during the 4th quarter worth approximately $262,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Western Union by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 279,331 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,330,000 after purchasing an additional 33,043 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Western Union Price Performance

WU opened at $13.37 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.38, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $4.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $13.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.62. The Western Union Company has a 1 year low of $10.92 and a 1 year high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 14.12% and a return on equity of 120.76%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Monness Crespi & Hardt began coverage on shares of Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.61.

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.