Marshall Wace LLP Decreases Stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Marshall Wace LLP lowered its stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,652,802 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 152,532 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned about 0.85% of TransUnion worth $153,231,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 72.1% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 649 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. PEAK6 LLC bought a new position in TransUnion in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,582,000. LTS One Management LP grew its holdings in TransUnion by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. LTS One Management LP now owns 200,000 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $18,542,000 after buying an additional 38,500 shares in the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new stake in TransUnion during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,259,000. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP raised its position in shares of TransUnion by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 2,086,050 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $193,398,000 after buying an additional 375,736 shares during the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.31, for a total transaction of $83,310.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 105,443 shares of the company's stock, 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 a total of 4,021 shares of company stock worth $372,751 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group lifted their target price on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Monday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.23.

TransUnion Trading Down 1.2 %

TRU traded down $0.87 on Friday, reaching $72.88. 1,111,010 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,673,626. 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 company has a market cap of $14.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.25. TransUnion has a one year low of $66.15 and a one year high of $113.17.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

TransUnion announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This is a positive change from TransUnion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. TransUnion's dividend 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.