Geode Capital Management LLC Has $85.67 Million Stock Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,179,698 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,458 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.13% of Western Union worth $85,671,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in Western Union by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,926,192 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $154,209,000 after purchasing an additional 52,081 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 17.7% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 9,736,930 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $118,985,000 after buying an additional 1,462,853 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Western Union by 62.8% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,730,450 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $45,586,000 after buying an additional 1,439,310 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Western Union by 52.0% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,337,466 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,784,000 after acquiring an additional 1,142,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in Western Union by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,880,800 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $22,438,000 after acquiring an additional 84,579 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WU opened at $10.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.49, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The Western Union Company has a 12 month low of $10.51 and a 12 month high of $14.19. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.75.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.02. Western Union had a net margin of 16.07% and a return on equity of 120.39%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.79%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is 48.21%.

Western Union declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, December 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WU has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped 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. Barclays cut 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. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Three investment 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.63.

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.