Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Buys 6,690 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its holdings in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 167,588 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,690 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned 0.09% of TransUnion worth $15,537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of TransUnion by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,066,657 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,674,960,000 after purchasing an additional 241,019 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,139,607 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $476,493,000 after buying an additional 356,306 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 307.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,540,896 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $475,432,000 after buying an additional 3,427,199 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of TransUnion by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,426,510 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $463,456,000 after buying an additional 635,581 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of TransUnion by 30.6% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,370,742 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $312,501,000 after acquiring an additional 789,497 shares in the last quarter.

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Insider Transactions at TransUnion

In related news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $5,611,923.60. The trade was a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $383,041 over the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on TRU shares. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $114.08.

TransUnion Stock Up 1.0 %

TRU stock traded up $0.80 during trading on Monday, hitting $83.05. 2,347,912 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,604,803. The stock has a market cap of $16.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The firm's 50 day moving average is $91.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.14. TransUnion has a 1 year low of $66.07 and a 1 year high of $113.17.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. TransUnion had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 6.80%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

TransUnion announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is 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 issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This is an increase from TransUnion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.