Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 91.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,478 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,467 shares during the quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WU. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 6.5% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 384,575 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,700,000 after acquiring an additional 23,523 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Western Union by 62.8% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,730,450 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $45,586,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439,310 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 30.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 348,850 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,263,000 after buying an additional 82,018 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of Western Union by 89.3% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,226 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 52.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on WU. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com raised Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.63.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WU opened at $10.32 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a PE ratio of 5.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.85. The Western Union Company has a 1-year low of $10.17 and a 1-year high of $14.19. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $10.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.35.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.11%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.21%.

Western Union announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, December 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.