TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Given New $119.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) had its target price hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $103.00 to $119.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the business services provider's stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on TRU. Wolfe Research raised TransUnion from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $85.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on TransUnion from $104.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $104.53.

TransUnion Price Performance

NYSE:TRU traded down $2.03 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $106.64. The stock had a trading volume of 2,081,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,588,623. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.71 billion, a PE ratio of -75.10, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.62. TransUnion has a 52 week low of $42.09 and a 52 week high of $113.17. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $101.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The business services provider reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.13. TransUnion had a positive return on equity of 15.03% and a negative net margin of 6.11%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.76 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that TransUnion will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a $0.105 dividend. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -29.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In other news, CAO Jennifer A. Williams sold 405 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.58, for a total transaction of $38,709.90. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at $686,837.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other TransUnion news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.14, for a total transaction of $90,140.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 69,547 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,268,966.58. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Jennifer A. Williams sold 405 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.58, for a total transaction of $38,709.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at $686,837.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 13,715 shares of company stock valued at $1,299,729. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransUnion

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 32.2% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 16,339,762 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,211,757,000 after buying an additional 3,977,595 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in TransUnion by 51.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,755,729 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $539,108,000 after acquiring an additional 2,306,596 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 12.1% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,316,891 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $424,288,000 after purchasing an additional 572,121 shares during the last quarter. Meritage Group LP boosted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 2.3% during the first quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 5,147,510 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $410,771,000 after acquiring an additional 117,086 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in TransUnion by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 4,566,864 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $364,436,000 after purchasing an additional 102,841 shares during the period.

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.