Independent Franchise Partners LLP Purchases 375,736 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) by 22.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,086,050 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 375,736 shares during the period. TransUnion accounts for approximately 1.5% of Independent Franchise Partners LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Independent Franchise Partners LLP owned about 1.07% of TransUnion worth $193,398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 10,311 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $956,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $1,261,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in TransUnion by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 3,608 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 5.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter.

Remove Ads

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.31, for a total value of $83,310.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 77,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,447,610.83. This trade represents a 1.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total value of $174,342.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 105,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $372,751 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TRU has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer reduced 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. Bank of America began coverage on TransUnion in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $84.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group upped their price objective on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on TransUnion from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.23.

TransUnion Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TRU traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $75.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,922,779 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,695,706. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $85.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. TransUnion has a one year low of $66.07 and a one year high of $113.17. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.14). The company 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is 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 issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This is a positive change from TransUnion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio is 31.51%.

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.