Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Buys 4,768 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 59,802 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,768 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Western Union were worth $713,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,882,154 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $130,247,000 after buying an additional 1,439,595 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Western Union by 10.5% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,498,861 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $151,555,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088,247 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec bought a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $13,180,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 268.2% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 1,224,532 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $16,139,000 after purchasing an additional 891,949 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Western Union by 969.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 765,613 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,192,000 after buying an additional 694,026 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Union news, Director Timothy P. Murphy acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $12.85 per share, with a total value of $128,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $722,234.25. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of WU opened at $13.37 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.52 billion, a PE ratio of 7.91, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.84. The Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $10.92 and a fifty-two week high of $14.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.38, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $13.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.62.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 120.76% and a net margin of 14.12%. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Western Union’s payout ratio is currently 55.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WU. 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 note on Monday, February 12th. Monness Crespi & Hardt began coverage on Western Union in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped 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 assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.61.

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.