T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Decreases Stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,382,929 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 317,257 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.74% of TransUnion worth $313,632,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of TransUnion by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,422,399 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $131,872,000 after purchasing an additional 217,288 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of TransUnion in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $290,000. Hunting Hill Global Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of TransUnion in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $467,000. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG grew its position in shares of TransUnion by 293.4% in the fourth quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 9,961 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $923,000 after purchasing an additional 7,429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of TransUnion by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 63,856 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,920,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In related news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 105,443 shares in the company, valued at $10,095,112.82. This trade represents a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction of $95,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 58,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,611,923.60. This trade represents a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $372,751 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

TransUnion Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE TRU traded down $0.39 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $81.70. The company had a trading volume of 1,588,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,668,080. The company has a market capitalization of $15.94 billion, a PE ratio of 55.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.70. TransUnion has a 1-year low of $66.38 and a 1-year high of $113.17. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $82.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.89.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.07 billion. TransUnion had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 6.80%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current 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 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 a positive change from TransUnion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on TransUnion from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on TransUnion from $130.00 to $117.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on TransUnion from $120.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective 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, William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Monday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.38.

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.