Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC Has $5.93 Million Stock Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 559,305 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,447 shares during the quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $5,929,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WU. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 30.7% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 348,850 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,263,000 after buying an additional 82,018 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new stake in Western Union during the third quarter valued at about $8,124,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 147,658 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 20.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,698,559 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,264,000 after purchasing an additional 283,479 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 523,676 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,247,000 after purchasing an additional 83,715 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on WU shares. StockNews.com raised Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. 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, Barclays decreased 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.63.

Western Union Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of WU stock opened at $10.25 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $10.69 and a 200-day moving average of $11.40. The stock has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.85. The Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $10.19 and a 52-week high of $14.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, December 13th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd were paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.18%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is 48.21%.

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.