TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on the stock from $87.00 to $89.00. The stock had previously closed at $68.68, but opened at $76.36. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. TransUnion shares last traded at $74.90, with a volume of 1,475,059 shares changing hands.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on TransUnion from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of TransUnion from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of TransUnion from $55.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $63.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 29th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of TransUnion from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.60.

Insider Transactions at TransUnion

In related news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,775 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.30, for a total value of $144,307.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 75,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,105,548.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.30, for a total transaction of $144,307.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 75,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,105,548.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy J. Martin sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.59, for a total transaction of $943,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 54,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,284,883.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,275 shares of company stock worth $1,204,538 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TransUnion

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,910,715 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,230,645,000 after purchasing an additional 234,123 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors bought a new stake in TransUnion during the fourth quarter valued at about $663,001,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 570.4% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,029,897 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $483,024,000 after buying an additional 5,981,271 shares during the period. Meritage Group LP raised its stake in TransUnion by 56.5% in the 4th quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 5,030,424 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $345,640,000 after acquiring an additional 1,815,540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its position in TransUnion by 23.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,923,690 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $353,472,000 after purchasing an additional 942,924 shares during the period.

TransUnion Trading Up 8.2 %

The company has a market cap of $14.43 billion, a PE ratio of -50.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.61. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $954.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $927.04 million. TransUnion had a negative net margin of 7.50% and a positive return on equity of 13.58%. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. On average, analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.105 per share. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -28.19%.

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.