Geode Capital Management LLC Sells 76,015 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Geode Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,103,683 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 76,015 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $75,317,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 38,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 4,552 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Western Union by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,926,192 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $154,209,000 after buying an additional 52,081 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 9.0% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 88,083 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,051,000 after buying an additional 7,270 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Union in the third quarter valued at approximately $734,000. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 17.0% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 29,204 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $348,000 after acquiring an additional 4,247 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WU opened at $9.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $10.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.79. The Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $9.00 and a fifty-two week high of $13.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.69.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced 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 return on equity of 96.90% and a net margin of 22.19%. As a group, analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s payout ratio is currently 34.43%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WU has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.11.

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.