Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 241,019 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,066,657 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 241,019 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.27% of TransUnion worth $1,674,960,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of TRU. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in TransUnion by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,139,607 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $476,493,000 after buying an additional 356,306 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 307.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,540,896 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $475,432,000 after acquiring an additional 3,427,199 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 16.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,426,510 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $463,456,000 after purchasing an additional 635,581 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of TransUnion by 30.6% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 789,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in TransUnion by 2.4% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,154,262 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $330,251,000 after purchasing an additional 75,410 shares during the last quarter.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. 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 research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, TransUnion presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $114.08.

TransUnion Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TRU traded up $0.80 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $83.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,347,912 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,604,804. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $91.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.03. TransUnion has a one year low of $66.07 and a one year high of $113.17.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. This is an increase from TransUnion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.51%.

TransUnion declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In related news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 58,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,611,923.60. The trade was a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was 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 $10,095,112.82. This trade represents a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $383,041 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.