TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Shares Sold by Marathon Asset Management Ltd

Marathon Asset Management Ltd reduced its holdings in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 654,484 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 28,968 shares during the period. TransUnion makes up 1.7% of Marathon Asset Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Marathon Asset Management Ltd owned approximately 0.34% of TransUnion worth $60,676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in TransUnion during the fourth quarter worth $169,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in TransUnion by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,097 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $194,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares during the period. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the fourth quarter valued at $324,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in TransUnion by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 733 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of TransUnion by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 3,126 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $290,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In related news, 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 transaction of $95,950.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,611,923.60. This trade represents a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 105,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $383,041. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

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TransUnion Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TRU traded down $3.02 during trading on Thursday, hitting $87.05. The stock had a trading volume of 2,120,995 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,519,964. 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 $66.07 and a 12-month high of $113.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.63. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.46.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last posted 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 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.115 per share. This is an increase from TransUnion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased 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, UBS Group increased 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. Five 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 company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.64.

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.