Barclays PLC Sells 37,135 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Barclays PLC trimmed its stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) by 15.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 201,483 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 37,135 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned about 0.10% of TransUnion worth $18,680,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of TRU. Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its position in TransUnion by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 2,086,050 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $193,398,000 after buying an additional 375,736 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 10,311 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $956,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of TransUnion by 53.6% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 11,025 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 3,848 shares during the period. Heritage Trust Co bought a new position in shares of TransUnion in the 4th quarter worth $287,000. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP grew its position in TransUnion by 474.2% in the 4th quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 56,748 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,261,000 after purchasing an additional 46,865 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on TRU. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Barclays lowered their price objective on TransUnion from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on TransUnion from $130.00 to $117.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on TransUnion in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $84.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $111.23.

Insider Transactions at TransUnion

In other news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total value of $174,342.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 105,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. This represents a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.31, for a total transaction of $83,310.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 77,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,447,610.83. This represents a 1.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $372,751 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

TransUnion Stock Performance

TRU traded up $5.57 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $82.83. The stock had a trading volume of 2,948,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,685,740. TransUnion has a 1 year low of $66.38 and a 1 year high of $113.17. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $83.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.39. The stock has a market cap of $16.16 billion, a PE ratio of 56.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.04). TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. Equities analysts anticipate that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.115 dividend. This is a positive change from TransUnion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.51%.

TransUnion declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

TransUnion Company Profile

TransUnion operates as a global consumer credit reporting agency that provides risk and information solutions. The company operates through U.S. Markets, International, and Consumer Interactive segments. The U.S. Markets segment provides consumer reports, actionable insights, and analytic services to businesses, which uses its services to acquire new customers; assess consumer ability to pay for services; identify cross-selling opportunities; measure and manage debt portfolio risk; collect debt; verify consumer identities; and mitigate fraud risk.