Metis Global Partners LLC Has $290,000 Stock Holdings in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,126 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in TRU. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 84.5% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 286 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 82.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 428 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of TransUnion in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 4,590.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of TransUnion in the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on TRU. UBS Group lifted their price objective on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.64.

TransUnion Trading Down 3.3 %

NYSE TRU opened at $87.05 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $16.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.63. TransUnion has a 52 week low of $66.07 and a 52 week high of $113.17. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $94.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $98.46. 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 quarterly 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 return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 6.80%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. This is an increase from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio is 31.51%.

TransUnion declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total value of $95,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 58,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,611,923.60. This trade represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $383,041. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.