The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Bought by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 70.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 991,900 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 411,500 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.29% of Western Union worth $10,514,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in Western Union by 17.0% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 29,204 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 4,247 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in Western Union by 21.0% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 205,562 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,452,000 after buying an additional 35,680 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Western Union by 9.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 608,454 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,257,000 after buying an additional 51,327 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Western Union by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,179,698 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $85,671,000 after buying an additional 25,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invst LLC lifted its holdings in Western Union by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 118,711 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,416,000 after buying an additional 5,143 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Union Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:WU opened at $9.79 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.75. The Western Union Company has a 12-month low of $9.00 and a 12-month high of $13.93. The firm has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.59, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.69.

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

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s payout ratio is 34.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WU has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.11.

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.