Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 172,599 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $16,002,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.09% of TransUnion at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in TransUnion by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 56,434 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,232,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in TransUnion by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 44,841 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,157,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in TransUnion in the fourth quarter valued at about $861,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of TransUnion by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 212,006 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $19,655,000 after acquiring an additional 83,300 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on TRU. UBS Group lifted their target price on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $111.64.

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TransUnion Stock Performance

TRU stock traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $85.41. The company had a trading volume of 2,938,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,551,890. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $92.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.46. TransUnion has a fifty-two week low of $66.07 and a fifty-two week high of $113.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.66 billion, a PE ratio of 58.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last issued 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). 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. Analysts anticipate that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.115 dividend. This is an increase from TransUnion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion's payout ratio is presently 31.51%.

TransUnion declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In other news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total transaction of $93,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 59,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,568,076.80. The trade was a 1.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 value of $174,342.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 105,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. This represents a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,021 shares of company stock worth $383,041 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

TransUnion Company 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.