Andra AP fonden Acquires 30,400 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Andra AP fonden increased its holdings in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 27.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 142,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 30,400 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $13,211,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of TRU. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in TransUnion by 1.0% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 10,211 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,069,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in TransUnion by 84.5% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 286 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in TransUnion by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,261,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in TransUnion by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in TransUnion by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 3,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TRU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group upped their price target on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price target on TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In other TransUnion news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 105,443 shares in the company, valued at $10,095,112.82. This trade represents a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 58,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,611,923.60. This represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $383,041 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

TransUnion Stock Performance

NYSE:TRU opened at $86.37 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. TransUnion has a 12-month low of $66.07 and a 12-month high of $113.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $94.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.63.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last released its quarterly 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 firm 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This is a boost from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.51%.

TransUnion announced that its board has initiated 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 purchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.