Marathon Asset Management Ltd Lowers Stock Position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Marathon Asset Management Ltd lowered its position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 654,484 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 28,968 shares during the period. TransUnion comprises about 1.7% of Marathon Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Marathon Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $60,676,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in TRU. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 10,369.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $614,000 after purchasing an additional 5,807 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 146.1% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,466 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,410,000 after purchasing an additional 7,995 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc raised its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 4.2% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 64,629 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,767,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of TransUnion in the third quarter valued at about $203,000. Finally, Cigna Investments Inc. New purchased a new stake in shares of TransUnion in the third quarter valued at about $210,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on TRU shares. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In other TransUnion news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total transaction of $93,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,488 shares in the company, valued at $5,568,076.80. The trade was a 1.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total transaction of $174,342.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 105,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,021 shares of company stock worth $383,041 over the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

TransUnion Price Performance

TRU stock opened at $92.55 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $94.63 and a 200-day moving average of $98.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. TransUnion has a 12 month low of $66.07 and a 12 month high of $113.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.63.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a $0.115 dividend. This is a positive change from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.51%.

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

TransUnion Company 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.