Panagora Asset Management Inc. Acquires 774,431 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 5,731.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 787,943 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 774,431 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Western Union worth $9,629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Western Union by 3.0% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 75,366 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $921,000 after buying an additional 2,163 shares during the last quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 60,618 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $741,000 after purchasing an additional 5,631 shares during the last quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 43.0% in the second quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 491,792 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,010,000 after buying an additional 147,806 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Western Union by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 87,248 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,066,000 after purchasing an additional 4,424 shares during the period. Finally, TSP Capital Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Western Union by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. TSP Capital Management Group LLC now owns 190,372 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,326,000 after purchasing an additional 3,366 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Union Stock Up 0.7 %

Western Union stock opened at $12.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.98, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.22, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.85. The Western Union Company has a 1-year low of $10.92 and a 1-year high of $14.19. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $12.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.81.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.01). Western Union had a return on equity of 123.71% and a net margin of 13.64%. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.70%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Western Union in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com raised Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.14.

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.