Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $1.22 Million in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 102,300 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,219,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WU. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in Western Union by 1.4% during the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 56,476 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $744,000 after buying an additional 791 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in Western Union by 0.5% during the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 169,552 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,235,000 after buying an additional 842 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its position in Western Union by 0.5% during the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 197,250 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,600,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Western Union by 134.8% during the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,956 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,123 shares during the period. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Western Union by 92.2% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,366 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 1,135 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt began coverage on shares of Western Union in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.25.

Insider Activity at Western Union

In related news, Director Timothy P. Murphy bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $12.85 per share, with a total value of $128,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 56,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $722,234.25. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Western Union Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of Western Union stock opened at $13.30 on Tuesday. The Western Union Company has a 12-month low of $10.37 and a 12-month high of $14.19. The company has a market cap of $4.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.92, a PEG ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.23. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $13.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.60.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37. Western Union had a net margin of 14.37% and a return on equity of 113.63%. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.07%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.95%.

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.