The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Acquired by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 8.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,103,296 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 81,343 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.33% of Western Union worth $13,061,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Western Union by 30.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 348,850 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,263,000 after purchasing an additional 82,018 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Union in the third quarter worth $8,124,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Western Union by 293.3% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 198,002 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,362,000 after acquiring an additional 147,658 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Western Union by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 523,676 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,247,000 after acquiring an additional 83,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN grew its holdings in Western Union by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 704,054 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,399,000 after acquiring an additional 74,742 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WU has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com raised Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays lowered their price target on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.63.

Western Union Stock Performance

WU stock opened at $10.71 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $11.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.62 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The Western Union Company has a 1 year low of $10.51 and a 1 year high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. Western Union’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 23rd. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.21%.

Western Union declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.