Bridgewater Associates LP Purchases 134,223 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Bridgewater Associates LP grew its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 35.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 507,633 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 134,223 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP owned 0.15% of Western Union worth $5,381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WU. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 202.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,661,732 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $60,014,000 after acquiring an additional 3,792,683 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position 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 worth $95,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,194,403 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Western Union during the 4th quarter worth approximately $22,984,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Western Union in the fourth quarter worth $22,848,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 41.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,305,933 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $66,843,000 after buying an additional 1,857,012 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Stock Up 0.6 %

WU stock opened at $9.81 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $10.46 and its 200 day moving average is $10.74. The firm has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 3.59, a P/E/G 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.20.

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

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.59%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WU has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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.