Virtu Financial LLC Acquires New Shares in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 31,926 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $381,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WU. State Street Corp lifted its holdings 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 worth $154,209,000 after purchasing an additional 52,081 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 17.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 0.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,179,698 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $85,671,000 after acquiring an additional 25,458 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Western Union by 62.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,439,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Western Union by 52.0% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,337,466 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,784,000 after acquiring an additional 1,142,400 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Union Trading Up 3.9 %

Shares of WU opened at $11.19 on Tuesday. 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 fifty-two week low of $10.51 and a fifty-two week high of $14.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $11.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.79. The firm has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.74, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Western Union announced that its board has authorized a share 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 reacquire up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.40%. Western Union’s payout ratio is 48.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on WU shares. UBS Group cut their price target 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. StockNews.com upgraded Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays lowered their price target on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.63.

Western Union 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.