TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Shares Bought by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG boosted its stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) by 293.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,961 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,429 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in TransUnion were worth $923,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 19,540,131 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,811,566,000 after purchasing an additional 359,569 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in TransUnion by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,066,657 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,674,960,000 after buying an additional 241,019 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in TransUnion by 52.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,749,849 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $625,779,000 after buying an additional 2,323,339 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,139,607 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $476,493,000 after acquiring an additional 356,306 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in shares of TransUnion by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,044,865 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $467,709,000 after acquiring an additional 503,969 shares during the last quarter.

TransUnion Price Performance

Shares of TransUnion stock traded down $0.34 during trading on Friday, reaching $82.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,125,656 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,668,397. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $82.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.97. The company has a market capitalization of $16.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. 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 has a 12-month low of $66.38 and a 12-month high of $113.17.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last announced 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 analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

TransUnion announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. This is an increase from TransUnion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.47%.

Insider Transactions at TransUnion

In other TransUnion news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction of $95,950.00. Following the sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total value of $174,342.54. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $372,751 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on TRU. UBS Group upped their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of TransUnion from $120.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Monday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on TransUnion in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $84.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, TransUnion presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.38.

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.