FIL Ltd Grows Stock Position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

FIL Ltd raised its position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 176,416 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,226 shares during the quarter. FIL Ltd owned approximately 0.09% of TransUnion worth $16,356,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of TRU. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 82.1% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 428 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in TransUnion during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in TransUnion by 58.7% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 454 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in TransUnion in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in shares of TransUnion during the 4th quarter worth $47,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TRU has been the subject of several analyst reports. 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. UBS Group upped their price target on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lowered their price objective on TransUnion from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of TransUnion in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $84.00 target price for the company. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Monday, March 24th. One 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 an average price target of $111.23.

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Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In related news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total transaction of $174,342.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 105,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,095,112.82. This represents a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.31, for a total transaction of $83,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 77,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,447,610.83. The trade was a 1.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $372,751 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

TransUnion Price Performance

Shares of TransUnion stock traded up $0.39 on Tuesday, hitting $75.17. 1,922,779 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,694,952. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $85.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.61. TransUnion has a 52 week low of $66.07 and a 52 week high of $113.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). 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 the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. Research analysts expect that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This is a positive change from TransUnion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.51%.

TransUnion declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.