TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Shares Sold by Picton Mahoney Asset Management

Picton Mahoney Asset Management lessened its holdings in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,980 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 160 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $276,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. 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 worth $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of TransUnion by 84.5% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 286 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,261,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of TransUnion by 4.0% during 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.

Insider Activity

In other TransUnion news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total value of $93,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 59,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,568,076.80. This represents a 1.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $383,041 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

TransUnion Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:TRU opened at $82.44 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $92.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.88. TransUnion has a 52 week low of $66.07 and a 52 week high of $113.17. 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 $16.08 billion, a PE ratio of 56.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70.

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

TransUnion declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock 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 repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.115 dividend. This is an increase from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on TRU. Oppenheimer cut their target price on TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group upped their price objective on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.64.

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.