Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 69,253 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Bessemer Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,494,246 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 69,253 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned about 2.31% of TransUnion worth $416,661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in TransUnion by 52.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,749,849 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $625,779,000 after buying an additional 2,323,339 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of TransUnion during the fourth quarter valued at $180,011,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in TransUnion by 30.6% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,370,742 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $312,501,000 after acquiring an additional 789,497 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in TransUnion by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,044,865 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $467,709,000 after purchasing an additional 503,969 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in TransUnion by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 19,540,131 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,811,566,000 after purchasing an additional 359,569 shares during the last quarter.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on TRU shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on TransUnion from $130.00 to $117.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 trade represents a 1.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total transaction of $174,342.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 105,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,095,112.82. This trade represents a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $372,751. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

TransUnion Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE TRU traded up $1.38 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $73.82. The company had a trading volume of 842,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,687,438. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. TransUnion has a 1-year low of $66.07 and a 1-year high of $113.17. The firm's 50 day moving average is $86.71 and its 200-day moving average is $94.95. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.14). TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. On average, analysts expect that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. This is a positive change from TransUnion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.51%.

TransUnion announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

About TransUnion

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.