TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Shares Bought by Amundi

Amundi grew its holdings in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 28.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,346,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 294,549 shares during the period. Amundi’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $121,345,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in TransUnion by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 19,180,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,008,205,000 after acquiring an additional 2,840,800 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in TransUnion by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,139,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $476,493,000 after acquiring an additional 356,306 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in TransUnion by 307.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,540,896 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $475,432,000 after acquiring an additional 3,427,199 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 16.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,426,510 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $463,456,000 after buying an additional 635,581 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 2.4% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,154,262 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $330,251,000 after buying an additional 75,410 shares during the period.

TransUnion Trading Down 6.3 %

Shares of NYSE TRU opened at $80.99 on Tuesday. TransUnion has a 12 month low of $66.07 and a 12 month high of $113.17. The company has a market cap of $15.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.40.

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). The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. TransUnion had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 6.80%. Sell-side analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a $0.115 dividend. This is an increase from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 58,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,611,923.60. This represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total value of $174,342.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 105,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. This represents a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $383,041. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.64.

TransUnion 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.