TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 208,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 21,010 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in TransUnion were worth $19,315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TRU. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in TransUnion by 82.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 428 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in TransUnion by 4,590.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in TransUnion during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in TransUnion in the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in TransUnion by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 733 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at TransUnion

In other TransUnion news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total transaction of $93,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 59,488 shares in the company, valued at $5,568,076.80. This trade represents a 1.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total value of $174,342.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 105,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. This trade represents a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,021 shares of company stock worth $383,041 in the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

TransUnion Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:TRU opened at $85.41 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $92.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.46. 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 has a 12-month low of $66.07 and a 12-month high of $113.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.14). TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. This is an increase from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion’s payout ratio is currently 31.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TRU has been the topic of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group increased their price target on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Five 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.64.

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.