Van ECK Associates Corp Has $476.49 Million Stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,139,607 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 356,306 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 2.64% of TransUnion worth $476,493,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 84.5% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 286 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted 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 worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in TransUnion by 4,590.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in TransUnion during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in TransUnion by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 788 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period.

Insider Activity

In other TransUnion news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total value of $93,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 59,488 shares in the company, valued at $5,568,076.80. The trade was a 1.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director George M. Awad sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $1,200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,702,600. This trade represents a 30.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 18,590 shares of company stock worth $1,854,218. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of TransUnion from $103.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut 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, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.64.

TransUnion Stock Performance

TransUnion stock traded down $0.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $99.79. The company had a trading volume of 2,429,990 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,398,812. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. TransUnion has a 52 week low of $66.07 and a 52 week high of $113.17. The company has a 50 day moving average of $95.13 and a 200-day moving average of $97.91. The firm has a market cap of $19.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.77, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.63.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.14). TransUnion had a net margin of 5.47% and a return on equity of 15.38%. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that TransUnion will post 3.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes 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 shares are undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given 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 dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion's payout ratio is 36.52%.

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.