TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) EVP Sells $174,342.54 in Stock

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

TransUnion Stock Performance

Shares of TransUnion stock opened at $92.55 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $18.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.39, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $94.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.46. TransUnion has a 1-year low of $66.07 and a 1-year high of $113.17.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last issued its 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). The business 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

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

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This is a positive change from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TransUnion

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 84.5% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 286 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in TransUnion by 82.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 428 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in TransUnion in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 4,590.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of TransUnion during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.