CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Trims Holdings in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 413,297 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 9,863 shares during the quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC owned approximately 0.21% of TransUnion worth $37,259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of TRU. Norges Bank bought a new position in TransUnion in the 4th quarter worth about $180,011,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in TransUnion by 30.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 789,497 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,426,510 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $463,456,000 after purchasing an additional 635,581 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,139,607 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $476,493,000 after purchasing an additional 356,306 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in TransUnion by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,346,035 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $121,345,000 after purchasing an additional 294,549 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on TRU shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Monday, March 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, TransUnion presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $114.08.

Remove Ads

Insider Activity at TransUnion

In related news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction of $95,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,611,923.60. The trade was a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 105,443 shares in the company, valued at $10,095,112.82. This trade represents a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,021 shares of company stock valued at $289,441. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

TransUnion Stock Performance

TransUnion stock traded down $8.66 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $77.08. The company had a trading volume of 2,685,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,615,442. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $15.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. The company's fifty day moving average is $91.01 and its 200-day moving average is $96.84. TransUnion has a 12-month low of $66.07 and a 12-month high of $113.17.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. Equities research analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. This is a boost from TransUnion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion's payout ratio is presently 31.51%.

TransUnion announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are 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.