Vanguard Group Inc. Has $1.67 Billion Holdings in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,066,657 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 241,019 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.09% of TransUnion worth $1,674,960,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of 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. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in 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 valued at $1,261,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in TransUnion by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $334,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of TransUnion by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,642 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period.

TransUnion Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TRU opened at $85.71 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $92.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.32. TransUnion has a fifty-two week low of $66.07 and a fifty-two week high of $113.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70.

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

TransUnion announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically 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. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion’s payout ratio is presently 31.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction of $95,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 58,488 shares in the company, valued at $5,611,923.60. This represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were 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 $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 a total of 4,021 shares of company stock worth $383,041 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on TRU. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group upped their price target on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.08.

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.