Fmr LLC Increases Stock Holdings in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

FMR LLC increased its holdings in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) by 307.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,540,896 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,427,199 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned 2.33% of TransUnion worth $475,432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 84.5% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 286 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 963.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 574 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in TransUnion by 22.3% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 910 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in TransUnion by 156.6% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 857 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of TransUnion during the second quarter valued at approximately $75,000.

TransUnion Stock Performance

NYSE:TRU traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $101.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 652,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,602,257. TransUnion has a fifty-two week low of $57.80 and a fifty-two week high of $113.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market cap of $19.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.62. The firm's 50 day moving average is $103.54 and its 200-day moving average is $90.41.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. TransUnion had a net margin of 5.47% and a return on equity of 15.38%. The firm's revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.80 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that TransUnion will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.105 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. TransUnion's payout ratio is 36.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on TRU. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on TransUnion from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on TransUnion from $103.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wolfe Research upgraded TransUnion from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of TransUnion from $104.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director George M. Awad sold 12,000 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $1,200,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 27,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,702,600. The trade was a 30.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy J. Martin sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.65, for a total value of $239,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 49,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,709,710.35. This trade represents a 4.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 19,500 shares of company stock worth $1,954,740. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

TransUnion 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.