Aviso Financial Inc. Boosts Stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Aviso Financial Inc. grew its stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,307 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Aviso Financial Inc.’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in TRU. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of TransUnion by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 700,518 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $64,945,000 after acquiring an additional 22,826 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of TransUnion by 307.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,540,896 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $475,432,000 after acquiring an additional 3,427,199 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of TransUnion in the third quarter worth $892,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased 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 worth $2,439,000 after acquiring an additional 4,743 shares during the period. Finally, TT International Asset Management LTD increased its stake in shares of TransUnion by 426.4% in the third quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD now owns 26,853 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,811,000 after acquiring an additional 21,752 shares during the period.

TransUnion Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE TRU opened at $82.44 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.96. TransUnion has a 52-week low of $66.07 and a 52-week high of $113.17. The firm has a market cap of $16.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. Equities analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.115 dividend. This is an increase from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.51%.

Insider Transactions at TransUnion

In other news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total value of $95,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,611,923.60. This trade represents a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total transaction of $174,342.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 105,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $383,041. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on TRU shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.