TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Shares Sold by Parnassus Investments LLC

Parnassus Investments LLC lessened its holdings in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,167,746 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 81,325 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $108,262,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. PGGM Investments bought a new position in TransUnion in the 4th quarter valued at about $338,000. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 9,374 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $869,000 after acquiring an additional 2,921 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of TransUnion by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 19,161 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,776,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of TransUnion by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 92,716 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,596,000 after acquiring an additional 3,924 shares during the period. Finally, Dundas Partners LLP raised its holdings in TransUnion by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Dundas Partners LLP now owns 6,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $608,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In related news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 105,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. This trade represents a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total value of $95,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $383,041. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on TRU. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, TransUnion has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.64.

TransUnion Price Performance

TRU opened at $80.31 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.01, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $93.34 and a 200-day moving average of $98.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current 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.

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

TransUnion declared that its board has approved a share repurchase 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 buy up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This is an increase from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. TransUnion’s payout ratio is presently 31.51%.

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.