Cerity Partners LLC Acquires 43,095 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 145.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,795 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 43,095 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $786,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Western Union during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky bought a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of Western Union by 662.7% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,722 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 3,234 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in Western Union by 1,734.7% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 4,862 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 4,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Western Union during the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE WU opened at $9.81 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. The Western Union Company has a 12 month low of $9.00 and a 12 month high of $13.93. The company has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 3.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.72.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. Research analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.59%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on WU. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.11.

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.