The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Sold by Allianz Asset Management GmbH

Allianz Asset Management GmbH lowered its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 14.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,854,239 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,137,479 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 2.03% of Western Union worth $72,655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Morningstar Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 4th quarter worth approximately $163,000. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Western Union during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,113,000. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its position in Western Union by 603.2% in the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 314,892 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,338,000 after purchasing an additional 270,111 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new position in Western Union during the 4th quarter valued at $218,000. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund bought a new position in Western Union during the 4th quarter valued at $207,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WU has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays cut their price target 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. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Union currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.11.

Western Union Trading Down 1.0 %

Western Union stock opened at $10.63 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $10.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.20. The Western Union Company has a 52 week low of $10.04 and a 52 week high of $14.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.85.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.84%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.43%.

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

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.