William Blair Investment Management LLC Buys 789,497 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) by 30.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,370,742 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 789,497 shares during the period. TransUnion comprises 0.8% of William Blair Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 1.73% of TransUnion worth $312,501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 307.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,540,896 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $475,432,000 after buying an additional 3,427,199 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in TransUnion by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 19,180,562 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,008,205,000 after acquiring an additional 2,840,800 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in TransUnion during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $92,661,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in TransUnion by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,426,510 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $463,456,000 after purchasing an additional 635,581 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in TransUnion by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,139,607 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $476,493,000 after purchasing an additional 356,306 shares during the last quarter.

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TransUnion Stock Up 0.2 %

TransUnion stock traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $85.41. The stock had a trading volume of 2,938,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,550,325. TransUnion has a one year low of $66.07 and a one year high of $113.17. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $92.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.54. The company has a market capitalization of $16.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.50, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.70.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. TransUnion had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 6.80%. On average, analysts expect 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 dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. This is a boost from TransUnion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.51%.

TransUnion declared that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price 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. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.64.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 105,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,095,112.82. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total value of $95,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,611,923.60. This represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $383,041 in the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.