TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) EVP Sells $174,342.54 in Stock

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 105,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

TransUnion Stock Performance

NYSE:TRU traded down $2.84 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $89.59. The stock had a trading volume of 1,509,680 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,584,312. TransUnion has a twelve month low of $66.07 and a twelve month high of $113.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market cap of $17.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.36, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.63. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $94.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.58.

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

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TransUnion declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a $0.115 dividend. This is a boost from TransUnion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. TransUnion's payout ratio is 31.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransUnion

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TRU. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in TransUnion by 84.5% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 286 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in TransUnion by 82.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 428 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of TransUnion in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 4,590.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on TRU. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.64.

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.