Insiders are generally long-term investors due to restriction in making short-term profits. In contrast, wealth management institutions always have short-term investment. Wall St. Watchdog reveals information regarding the insiders and institutions which recently decreased stock shares of Western Union Co. (NYSE:WU).

SEC data indicate these insiders have sold Western Union Co.’s stock since 06/30/2011:

• Stockdale Stewart: act as EVP & Pres., Gl. Cons. Fin. Sv. On 10/31/2011, sold 10,000 shares, worth $175,500.
• Stockdale Stewart: act as EVP & Pres., Gl. Cons. Fin. Sv. On 09/30/2011, sold 10,000 shares, worth $153,300.

SEC data indicate that these institutions significantly reduced their stock shares of Western Union Co. in Q3 2011:

• ARTISAN PARTNERS HOLDINGS LP: On 06/30/2011, held 12,616,130 shares, worth $251,439,471. On 09/30/2011, held 0 shares.
• KNIGHTSBRIDGE ASSET MANAGEMENT, LLC: On 06/30/2011, held 3,759,846 shares, worth $74,933,731. On 09/30/2011, held 0 shares.
• FIL LTD: On 06/30/2011, held 1,795,725 shares, worth $35,788,799. On 09/30/2011, held 0 shares.
• EAGLE ASSET MANAGEMENT INC: On 06/30/2011, held 1,009,155 shares, worth $20,112,459. On 09/30/2011, held 0 shares.
• BAMCO INC /NY/: On 06/30/2011, held 859,800 shares, worth $17,135,814. On 09/30/2011, held 0 shares.

About the company: Western Union Company offers money transfer services. The Company offers consumer to consumer money transfer and bill paying services, and sells money orders.

Competitors to Watch: MoneyGram Intl., Inc. (NYSE:MGI), Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT), MasterCard Incorporated (NYSE:MA), Visa (NYSE:V), Discover (NYSE:DFS), American Express (NYSE:AXP), Wright Express Corporation (NYSE:WXS), Heartland Payment Systems, Inc. (NYSE:HPY), Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN), Newtek Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:NEWT), FleetCor Tech., Inc. (NYSE:FLT), Green Dot Corporation (NYSE:GDOT), and M&F Worldwide Corp. (NYSE:MFW).

(Note: Data regarding Western Union Co.’s stock holdings are sourced from whalewisdom.com. All data are assumed to be accurate.)

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