TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,883,218 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 282,858 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.97% of TransUnion worth $174,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in TransUnion by 82.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 428 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of TransUnion during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in shares of TransUnion in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in TransUnion in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in TransUnion during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the firm'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 value of $174,342.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 105,443 shares in the company, valued at $10,095,112.82. This trade represents a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total value of $95,950.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 58,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,611,923.60. The trade was a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $372,751. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on TRU. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group upped their target price on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $112.54.

TransUnion Price Performance

TRU traded down $4.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $71.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,306,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,634,973. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. TransUnion has a twelve month low of $66.07 and a twelve month high of $113.17. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $90.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during 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, equities research analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.115 dividend. 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 0.65%. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.51%.

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.