Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 7,865 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 466,909 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 7,865 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Western Union were worth $5,566,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,123 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Union during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 92.2% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,366 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 1,135 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Western Union in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Western Union by 1,092.6% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,462 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 5,004 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of WU stock opened at $13.29 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.86, a PEG ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $13.42 and its 200 day moving average is $12.61. The Western Union Company has a 12 month low of $10.37 and a 12 month high of $14.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.23.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.05. Western Union had a return on equity of 111.53% and a net margin of 14.12%. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.07%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on WU shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Western Union from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Monness Crespi & Hardt initiated coverage on shares of Western Union in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Union presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.45.

Insider Activity at Western Union

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

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.