Schroder Investment Management Group Trims Position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Schroder Investment Management Group lowered its stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) by 63.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,744 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 18,748 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group's holdings in TransUnion were worth $997,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of TRU. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of TransUnion in the 4th quarter worth about $180,011,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of TransUnion by 30.6% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 789,497 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $476,493,000 after purchasing an additional 356,306 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in TransUnion by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,346,035 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $121,345,000 after purchasing an additional 294,549 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in TransUnion by 2,390.0% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 258,611 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $24,739,000 after purchasing an additional 248,225 shares during the period.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 105,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. This represents a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 77,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,447,610.83. The trade was a 1.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $372,751. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

TransUnion Price Performance

NYSE TRU traded down $0.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $72.39. 3,983,806 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,689,696. The company has a market capitalization of $14.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. TransUnion has a 12-month low of $66.07 and a 12-month high of $113.17. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. As a group, analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

TransUnion announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm 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 represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. This is a boost from TransUnion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Monday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced 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 dropped their target price on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.92.

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.