Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 173,910 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 4,530 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Western Union worth $1,840,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 3.7% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 75,490 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $799,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 7.4% in the first quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 1,580,771 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $16,725,000 after acquiring an additional 109,211 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 47.6% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 71,424 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $756,000 after acquiring an additional 23,041 shares during the period. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union in the first quarter worth $495,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 0.7% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 186,822 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,947,000 after acquiring an additional 1,249 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Stock Performance

NYSE:WU opened at $8.04 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. The Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $7.99 and a fifty-two week high of $13.12. The stock has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a PE ratio of 3.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.87.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.01. Western Union had a net margin of 22.08% and a return on equity of 77.19%. The company had revenue of $983.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.69%. Western Union’s payout ratio is 35.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WU shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $10.50 price objective (down from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $9.00 price target on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of Western Union from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $7.50 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.33.

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.