TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Shares Sold by Parnassus Investments LLC

Parnassus Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,167,746 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 81,325 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC owned about 0.60% of TransUnion worth $108,262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of TRU. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of TransUnion by 307.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,540,896 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $475,432,000 after acquiring an additional 3,427,199 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of TransUnion in the third quarter worth about $892,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 26,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,439,000 after buying an additional 4,743 shares in the last quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD raised its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 426.4% during the 3rd quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD now owns 26,853 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,811,000 after buying an additional 21,752 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,453 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $674,000 after buying an additional 819 shares during the period.

TransUnion Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TRU opened at $80.31 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.08. TransUnion has a twelve month low of $66.07 and a twelve month high of $113.17. The company has a market capitalization of $15.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.115 per share. This is a positive change from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio is 31.51%.

TransUnion announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group raised their target price on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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