New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $10.40 Million Stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 112,212 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,500 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.06% of TransUnion worth $10,403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in TransUnion by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 10,211 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 15.0% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 788 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 84.5% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 286 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in TransUnion by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,261,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in TransUnion by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,500 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total value of $151,095.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 60,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,092,956.24. The trade was a 2.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Todd C. Skinner sold 3,090 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.48, for a total value of $313,573.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 24,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,469,312.84. This trade represents a 11.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,590 shares of company stock worth $654,218. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on TRU shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Five 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, TransUnion currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.64.

TransUnion Stock Performance

NYSE TRU opened at $93.29 on Tuesday. TransUnion has a twelve month low of $66.07 and a twelve month high of $113.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market cap of $18.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.90, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.63. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.40.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. As a group, research analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This is a boost from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.51%.

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.