The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Sold by DGS Capital Management LLC

DGS Capital Management LLC cut its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 49.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 13,762 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 13,282 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Western Union by 0.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 52,081 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 worth $85,671,000 after purchasing an additional 25,458 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $45,586,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439,310 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in Western Union by 4.7% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,880,800 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $22,438,000 after buying an additional 84,579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Western Union by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,698,559 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,264,000 after buying an additional 283,479 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WU has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays cut their price target on 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 Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.63.

Western Union Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of WU opened at $10.25 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $10.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.38. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.25, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.85. The Western Union Company has a one year low of $10.19 and a one year high of $14.19.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.18%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.21%.

Western Union announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, December 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.