554 Shares in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Purchased by Kestra Investment Management LLC

Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 554 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $51,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of TRU. Creative Planning raised its stake in TransUnion by 43.8% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 3,436 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of TransUnion by 46.2% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,253 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of TransUnion by 19.6% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 168,167 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,607,000 after purchasing an additional 27,534 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TransUnion in the third quarter valued at approximately $348,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased 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 valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period.

TransUnion Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:TRU opened at $91.75 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.84, a PEG ratio of 1.20 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 quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.70. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $94.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.15.

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

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. This is a boost from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.77%.

TransUnion announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on TRU. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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. 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 data from MarketBeat, TransUnion presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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 value of $1,200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,702,600. This represents a 30.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total transaction of $151,095.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 60,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,092,956.24. This trade represents a 2.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,590 shares of company stock worth $1,854,218. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.