Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH Increases Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH increased its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 375.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,324 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 45,278 shares during the quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH’s holdings in Western Union were worth $608,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 68,237 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $723,000 after acquiring an additional 6,727 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Western Union by 50.6% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 122,956 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,303,000 after purchasing an additional 41,317 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Western Union in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $705,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Western Union by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 480,543 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,094,000 after purchasing an additional 76,900 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 145.1% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 72,795 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $786,000 after buying an additional 43,095 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $10.50 price target (down from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.78.

Western Union Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE WU opened at $9.93 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $10.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.48. The company has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 3.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.72. The Western Union Company has a 12-month low of $9.00 and a 12-month high of $13.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $983.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 96.90% and a net margin of 22.19%. Western Union’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Western Union’s payout ratio is 35.07%.

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.