21,101 Shares in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Acquired by Maia Wealth LLC

Maia Wealth LLC bought a new position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 21,101 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WU. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 1,189.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,854 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 7,245 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 50.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,121 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 14,415 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Western Union by 2,062.3% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 24,348 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 23,222 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Western Union by 13.8% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 403,643 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,662,000 after acquiring an additional 49,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in shares of 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 worth $22,438,000 after acquiring an additional 84,579 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of WU opened at $10.74 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.20. The company has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of 3.93, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.85. The Western Union Company has a 52 week low of $10.04 and a 52 week high of $14.19. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $10.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.10.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a return on equity of 96.90% and a net margin of 22.19%. Research analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is 34.43%.

Western Union announced that its board has approved 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 purchase up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price 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. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.11.

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.