TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Coverage Initiated at Bank of America

Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) in a report published on Thursday. The firm issued an underperform rating and a $84.00 price target on the business services provider's stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised their price objective 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 reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays lowered 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. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.23.

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TransUnion Price Performance

Shares of TRU stock traded down $0.01 on Thursday, hitting $74.77. 976,954 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,995,388. TransUnion has a 12 month low of $66.07 and a 12 month 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $86.28 and a 200 day moving average of $94.75. The stock has a market cap of $14.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. TransUnion had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 6.80%. On average, equities research analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

TransUnion announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In other news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the 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 completion of 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 position. The sale 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 firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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. Insiders sold a total of 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $372,751 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransUnion

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in TransUnion by 52.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,749,849 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $625,779,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323,339 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of TransUnion during the 4th quarter worth approximately $180,011,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of TransUnion during the 4th quarter valued at about $74,283,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in TransUnion by 30.6% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 789,497 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in TransUnion by 11.1% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter.

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.