TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Shares Bought by Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc.

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. raised its position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) by 32.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 191,364 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 46,612 shares during the period. TransUnion comprises 1.2% of Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. owned approximately 0.10% of TransUnion worth $17,741,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TRU. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in shares of TransUnion by 84.5% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 286 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in TransUnion by 82.1% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 428 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in TransUnion in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in TransUnion by 4,590.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in TransUnion by 62.6% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 805 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on TRU shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $103.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $121.00 price objective on shares of TransUnion in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.64.

TransUnion Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of TRU stock traded down $1.24 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $95.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 621,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,562,902. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $95.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.05. TransUnion has a 12-month low of $66.07 and a 12-month high of $113.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.70 billion, a PE ratio of 65.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.63.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for 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, research analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. This is a positive change from TransUnion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.77%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director George M. Awad sold 12,000 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $1,200,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 27,026 shares in the company, valued at $2,702,600. This trade represents a 30.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,500 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total transaction of $151,095.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 60,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,092,956.24. This represents a 2.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,590 shares of company stock valued at $1,854,218 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

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.