Headlands Technologies LLC Has $26,000 Stock Holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Headlands Technologies LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 47.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,419 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,200 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $26,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WU. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Western Union by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 92,977 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $986,000 after buying an additional 4,894 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Western Union by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,138,828 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $12,072,000 after purchasing an additional 35,532 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 69.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 111,978 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,187,000 after purchasing an additional 46,021 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in Western Union by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,768,627 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $18,747,000 after purchasing an additional 102,823 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in Western Union by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,021,308 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $95,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,194,403 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays decreased their price objective on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.11.

Western Union Trading Down 5.9 %

NYSE WU opened at $9.12 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $10.58 and its 200-day moving average is $10.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.34, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.69. The Western Union Company has a one year low of $9.00 and a one year high of $13.93.

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 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%. Equities research analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Western Union declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, December 13th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.43%.

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.