Homestead Advisers Corp Boosts Holdings in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Homestead Advisers Corp lifted its holdings in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) by 14.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 408,900 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 51,500 shares during the period. Homestead Advisers Corp owned 0.21% of TransUnion worth $37,909,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in TransUnion by 1.0% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 10,211 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,069,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in TransUnion by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,597 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of TransUnion by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 3,608 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of TransUnion by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,642 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other TransUnion news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the company'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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 105,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. This represents a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total value of $93,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 59,488 shares in the company, valued at $5,568,076.80. This represents a 1.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $383,041 over the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TRU has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $114.08.

TransUnion Price Performance

Shares of TRU traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $82.01. 622,037 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,598,134. The company has a market cap of $16.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. TransUnion has a 1 year low of $66.07 and a 1 year high of $113.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $91.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. TransUnion had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 6.80%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

TransUnion declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a $0.115 dividend. This is an increase from TransUnion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. TransUnion's payout ratio is presently 31.51%.

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.