Natixis Takes $1.54 Million Position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Natixis bought a new stake in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 16,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,538,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 82.1% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 428 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in TransUnion in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in TransUnion by 58.7% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 454 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of TransUnion during the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of TransUnion in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000.

TransUnion Trading Up 6.8 %

TRU opened at $75.51 on Wednesday. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $66.38 and a fifty-two week high of $113.17. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.50. The company has a market cap of $14.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. This is a boost from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.51%.

TransUnion declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TRU has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays cut their price target on shares of TransUnion from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on TransUnion from $130.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other TransUnion news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of TransUnion 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 sale, the insider now owns 58,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,611,923.60. This trade represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 105,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 three months, insiders have sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $372,751. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.