Raymond James & Associates Purchases 7,989 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Raymond James & Associates increased its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 22.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,931 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,989 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Western Union were worth $512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WU. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 969.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 765,613 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,192,000 after purchasing an additional 694,026 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Western Union by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,299,090 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $30,302,000 after buying an additional 244,286 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp bought a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 3rd quarter valued at about $527,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Western Union by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,160,429 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $15,294,000 after acquiring an additional 83,842 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its stake in Western Union by 132.4% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 143,978 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,898,000 after acquiring an additional 82,029 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Union

In other Western Union news, Director Timothy P. Murphy bought 10,000 shares of Western Union stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $12.85 per share, for a total transaction of $128,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 56,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $722,234.25. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WU shares. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Monness Crespi & Hardt assumed coverage on shares of Western Union in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays upped their price objective on Western Union from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Western Union from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.45.

Western Union Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE WU opened at $13.47 on Friday. The Western Union Company has a 12 month low of $10.37 and a 12 month high of $14.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $13.43 and a 200-day moving average of $12.62. The company has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a PE ratio of 7.97, a PEG ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 0.85.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 14.12% and a return on equity of 111.53%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.62%.

Western Union Company 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.