Thematics Asset Management Has $14.65 Million Stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Thematics Asset Management decreased its holdings in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) by 25.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 158,000 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 55,000 shares during the period. Thematics Asset Management owned approximately 0.08% of TransUnion worth $14,648,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in TransUnion by 52.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,749,849 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $625,779,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323,339 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of TransUnion in the fourth quarter worth approximately $180,011,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 30.6% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,370,742 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $312,501,000 after acquiring an additional 789,497 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,044,865 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $467,709,000 after acquiring an additional 503,969 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its position in shares of TransUnion by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 2,086,050 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $193,398,000 after acquiring an additional 375,736 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at TransUnion

In other news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 58,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,611,923.60. This trade represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $372,751. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $117.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays decreased their price objective on TransUnion from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. 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 report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $111.23.

TransUnion Stock Performance

NYSE:TRU traded up $5.23 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $82.49. The stock had a trading volume of 3,424,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,685,749. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.50, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. TransUnion has a 1-year low of $66.38 and a 1-year high of $113.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $83.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.39.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.04). TransUnion had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 6.80%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 buy up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership 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 given a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. This is a positive change from TransUnion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.51%.

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.