SG Americas Securities LLC Trims Stake in The Western Union Company $WU

SG Americas Securities LLC cut its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 51.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,067 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 70,700 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $536,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WU. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Western Union by 15.5% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 39,859 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 5,351 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 27.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,964,972 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,789,000 after purchasing an additional 422,715 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Western Union by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,861,908 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $19,699,000 after purchasing an additional 154,110 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 93.5% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 27,535 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 13,302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Novem Group purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 2nd quarter valued at $769,000. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised Western Union to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research raised Western Union from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Western Union from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Western Union from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $8.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Giovanni Angelini purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $8.95 per share, for a total transaction of $89,500.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 186,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,673,041.40. This represents a 5.65% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Western Union Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:WU opened at $9.51 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.70. The Western Union Company has a twelve month low of $7.85 and a twelve month high of $11.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a PE ratio of 4.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.51.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.04. Western Union had a net margin of 18.80% and a return on equity of 60.85%. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. Western Union’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 22nd were issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 22nd. Western Union’s payout ratio is presently 41.05%.

About Western Union

Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments. The company enables individuals and businesses to send and receive money through a variety of channels, including its vast agent network, online platforms, and mobile applications. Core services include person-to-person money transfers, business-to-business cross-border payments, bill payment services and prepaid card programs.

Through its digital offerings, Western Union provides customers with the ability to initiate transfers via its website and mobile app, as well as track transactions in real time.