1,941,660 Shares in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Acquired by Norges Bank

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,941,660 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $180,011,000. Norges Bank owned 1.00% of TransUnion as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TRU. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in shares of TransUnion by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 15,707 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,456,000 after purchasing an additional 2,746 shares in the last quarter. Homestead Advisers Corp increased its stake in TransUnion by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Homestead Advisers Corp now owns 408,900 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $37,909,000 after buying an additional 51,500 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 167,588 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $15,537,000 after acquiring an additional 6,690 shares during the last quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. lifted its position in shares of TransUnion by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 12,901 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,196,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 2,442.3% in the fourth quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 119,488 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $11,078,000 after acquiring an additional 114,788 shares during the last quarter.

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TransUnion Trading Down 5.7 %

Shares of TRU traded down $4.28 during trading on Friday, reaching $71.10. 5,306,262 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,636,209. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.48. The stock has a market cap of $13.87 billion, a PE ratio of 48.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. TransUnion has a twelve month low of $66.07 and a twelve month high of $113.17. 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 (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.14). TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This is a boost from TransUnion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.51%.

TransUnion announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $112.54.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $10,095,112.82. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $95,950.00. Following the sale, the insider now 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $372,751. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.