Jennifer A. Williams Sells 200 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Stock

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) CAO Jennifer A. Williams sold 200 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total value of $19,148.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $687,987.64. The trade was a 2.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

TransUnion Trading Up 1.0 %

TransUnion stock opened at $92.55 on Friday. 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 price-to-earnings ratio of 63.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.63. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $94.68 and a 200 day moving average of $98.41. 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 (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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.14). TransUnion had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 6.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm 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 represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. This is an increase from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion’s payout ratio is presently 31.51%.

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

Institutional Trading of TransUnion

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in TransUnion by 84.5% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 286 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of TransUnion by 82.1% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 428 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in TransUnion during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in TransUnion in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in TransUnion in the 4th quarter worth $47,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on TRU shares. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.64.

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.