Discerene Group LP Cuts Position in The Western Union Company $WU

Discerene Group LP lowered its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 36.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,672,417 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,133,333 shares during the quarter. Western Union makes up approximately 3.4% of Discerene Group LP’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Discerene Group LP’s holdings in Western Union were worth $32,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 401.4% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,604,026 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $70,793,000 after acquiring an additional 6,087,613 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its position in Western Union by 821.1% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 4,170,343 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,114,000 after purchasing an additional 3,717,589 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Western Union by 3,370.2% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,740,849 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,827,000 after purchasing an additional 3,633,049 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its position in Western Union by 128.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,900,542 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,155,000 after purchasing an additional 2,754,827 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Western Union by 35.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,407,960 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $96,898,000 after purchasing an additional 2,716,385 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WU shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Western Union from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on Western Union from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings cut Western Union from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Citigroup cut their target price on Western Union from $9.50 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Western Union in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $7.00 price target for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $8.35.

Western Union Trading Down 1.0%

Western Union stock opened at $8.22 on Friday. The Western Union Company has a 12-month low of $6.91 and a 12-month high of $10.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a PE ratio of 6.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.46. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.81.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $963.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 55.94% and a net margin of 10.88%.Western Union’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. Western Union’s payout ratio is currently 69.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Benjamin Carlton Adams sold 19,924 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.23, for a total value of $183,898.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 234,689 shares in the company, valued at $2,166,179.47. This represents a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Giovanni Angelini sold 6,000 shares of Western Union stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.47, for a total value of $56,820.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 311,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,947,935.24. The trade was a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 3.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Western Union Profile

Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments. The company enables individuals and businesses to send and receive money through a variety of channels, including its vast agent network, online platforms, and mobile applications. Core services include person-to-person money transfers, business-to-business cross-border payments, bill payment services and prepaid card programs.

Through its digital offerings, Western Union provides customers with the ability to initiate transfers via its website and mobile app, as well as track transactions in real time.