Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 3,179 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lessened its holdings in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 106,214 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,179 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $9,847,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 307.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,540,896 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $475,432,000 after purchasing an additional 3,427,199 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of TransUnion by 17.4% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in shares of TransUnion in the 3rd quarter worth $92,661,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of TransUnion by 16.8% in the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 7.4% during 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 in the last quarter.

TransUnion Stock Performance

NYSE:TRU opened at $84.93 on Thursday. 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 50-day simple moving average of $92.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.57 billion, a PE ratio of 58.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. TransUnion has a 52-week low of $66.07 and a 52-week high of $113.17.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.14). TransUnion had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 6.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. Analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.51%.

TransUnion announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on TRU shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, TransUnion presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.64.

Insider Activity at TransUnion

In related news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 58,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,611,923.60. The trade was a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total transaction of $174,342.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 105,443 shares in the company, valued at $10,095,112.82. This represents a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $383,041. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.