Bank of Montreal Can Has $444,000 Stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Bank of Montreal Can lowered its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 49.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,886 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 40,260 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Western Union were worth $444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on WU shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.11.

Western Union Stock Performance

NYSE:WU opened at $10.02 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.67, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.69. The Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $9.00 and a fifty-two week high of $13.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $10.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.69.

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

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.38%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.43%.

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.