TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Shares Sold by Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT cut its position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 88.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,638 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 129,436 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $1,635,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in TransUnion by 1.0% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 15.0% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 788 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in TransUnion by 84.5% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 286 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in TransUnion by 1.0% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in TransUnion by 14.4% in the 4th 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 last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on TRU. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, TransUnion presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director George M. Awad sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $1,200,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 27,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,702,600. This represents a 30.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd C. Skinner sold 3,090 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.48, for a total transaction of $313,573.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,469,312.84. This represents a 11.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,590 shares of company stock valued at $1,854,218. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

TransUnion Price Performance

Shares of TRU opened at $91.75 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.15. The stock has a market cap of $17.90 billion, a PE ratio of 62.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.63. TransUnion has a 1-year low of $66.07 and a 1-year high of $113.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.70.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last posted its 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). TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This is an increase from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion’s payout ratio is currently 28.77%.

TransUnion announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management 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.