Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Has $762,000 Holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 129.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 71,855 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,548 shares during the period. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Western Union were worth $762,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Western Union by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 50,387 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $534,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in Western Union by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 238,876 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,849,000 after buying an additional 1,205 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in Western Union by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 88,410 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in Western Union by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 13,177 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Western Union by 89.3% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,226 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Union Trading Down 5.5 %

Shares of WU stock opened at $10.60 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. The company has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.85. The Western Union Company has a 12-month low of $10.04 and a 12-month high of $14.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $10.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.27.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced 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 forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.8 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.87%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.43%.

Western Union declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, December 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on WU. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays dropped 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 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. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Union presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.11.

Western Union Company 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.