Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Buys 16,595 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) by 45.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 53,475 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 16,595 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership's holdings in TransUnion were worth $4,958,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in TransUnion by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 10,211 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in TransUnion by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,597 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,261,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in TransUnion by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in TransUnion by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 3,608 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of TransUnion by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,642 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on TRU shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, TransUnion has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $114.08.

TransUnion Stock Performance

Shares of TransUnion stock traded down $8.17 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $77.56. 1,421,181 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,748,410. The company has a market capitalization of $15.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.84. TransUnion has a 12 month low of $66.07 and a 12 month high of $113.17.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. TransUnion had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 6.80%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.115 per share. This is an increase from TransUnion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.51%.

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

Insider Transactions at TransUnion

In other news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction of $95,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 58,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,611,923.60. This represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the company'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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 105,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. This trade represents a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,021 shares of company stock worth $289,441 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

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.