TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) EVP Sells $174,342.54 in Stock

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total value of $174,342.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 105,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. This trade represents a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

TransUnion Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:TRU opened at $92.55 on Friday. TransUnion has a 52-week low of $66.07 and a 52-week 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.46. The company has a market cap of $18.06 billion, a PE ratio of 63.39, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.63.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts expect that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

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

TransUnion announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase 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 buy up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on TRU shares. 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. 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, TransUnion has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.64.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TRU. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in TransUnion by 84.5% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 286 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of TransUnion in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000.

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.