Insider Selling: TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Insider Sells 1,000 Shares of Stock

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.31, for a total value of $83,310.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 77,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,447,610.83. This trade represents a 1.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

TransUnion Stock Down 5.7 %

NYSE TRU opened at $71.10 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $90.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.46. 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 company has a market cap of $13.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. TransUnion has a one year low of $66.07 and a one year high of $113.17.

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

TransUnion announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. This is a boost from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion’s payout ratio is currently 31.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays dropped their target price on TransUnion from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group upped 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, TransUnion currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.54.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransUnion

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of TransUnion by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 10,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,092,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in TransUnion during the third quarter worth about $892,000. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in TransUnion by 923.2% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 32,762 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,430,000 after purchasing an additional 29,560 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in TransUnion in the 3rd quarter valued at about $676,000. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of TransUnion in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $357,000.

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.