Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Purchases 3,924 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,716 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,924 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in TransUnion were worth $8,596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in TRU. FMR LLC raised its stake in TransUnion by 307.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,540,896 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $475,432,000 after acquiring an additional 3,427,199 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new position in TransUnion in the 3rd quarter worth about $892,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in TransUnion by 22.0% in the fourth 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. TT International Asset Management LTD boosted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 426.4% during the third quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD now owns 26,853 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,811,000 after purchasing an additional 21,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 14.5% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,453 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the last quarter.

TransUnion Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of TRU opened at $80.31 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $15.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. TransUnion has a 1 year low of $66.07 and a 1 year high of $113.17. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.70.

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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). The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for 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%. On average, analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This is a boost from TransUnion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.51%.

Insider Activity at TransUnion

In other 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 transaction of $95,950.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 58,488 shares in the company, valued at $5,611,923.60. This represents a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total value 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. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $383,041 over the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on TRU. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.64.

About TransUnion

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.

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