Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. Buys Shares of 17,247 TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 17,247 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,599,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 1.0% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased 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 valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 buying an additional 139 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in TransUnion by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 733 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total value of $95,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,611,923.60. This represents a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total value of $174,342.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now 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 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $372,751. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on TRU shares. UBS Group boosted their price target 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. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Monday, March 24th. Barclays dropped their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $111.92.

TransUnion Stock Down 10.3 %

TRU stock traded down $8.34 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $72.64. 1,235,704 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,668,623. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $87.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.47. The stock has a market cap of $14.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. TransUnion has a fifty-two week low of $66.07 and a fifty-two week high of $113.17.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion declared that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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 issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This is a boost from TransUnion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. TransUnion's payout ratio is 31.51%.

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.