Zacks Investment Management Acquires New Position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Zacks Investment Management purchased a new position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,420 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $410,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in TransUnion by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 700,518 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $64,945,000 after purchasing an additional 22,826 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in TransUnion by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,097 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $194,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in TransUnion by 39.5% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 315,530 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,253,000 after acquiring an additional 89,340 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 26,308 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,439,000 after purchasing an additional 4,743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. raised its holdings in TransUnion by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. now owns 191,364 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $17,741,000 after buying an additional 46,612 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TRU has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target 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. UBS Group increased their price target on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America initiated coverage on TransUnion in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $84.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on TransUnion from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, TransUnion currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In other TransUnion news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total value of $95,950.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,611,923.60. This represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 105,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. The trade was 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 $372,751 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

TransUnion Trading Up 6.8 %

Shares of TRU stock traded up $5.23 on Thursday, hitting $82.49. 3,424,130 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,685,749. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.10 billion, a PE ratio of 56.50, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $83.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.39. TransUnion has a twelve month low of $66.38 and a twelve month high of $113.17.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.04). TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. As a group, analysts anticipate that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.115 per share. This is an increase from TransUnion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.51%.

TransUnion declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback 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 reacquire up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.