Amundi Increases Stock Holdings in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Amundi lifted its stake in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 28.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,346,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 294,549 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned 0.69% of TransUnion worth $121,345,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of TRU. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 307.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,540,896 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $475,432,000 after buying an additional 3,427,199 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 19,180,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,008,205,000 after buying an additional 2,840,800 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the 3rd quarter valued at about $92,661,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,426,510 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $463,456,000 after buying an additional 635,581 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,139,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $476,493,000 after buying an additional 356,306 shares during the period.

TransUnion Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TRU opened at $80.99 on Tuesday. TransUnion has a twelve month low of $66.07 and a twelve month high of $113.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $15.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.40.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

TransUnion declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in 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 often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. This is a positive change from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion’s payout ratio is currently 31.51%.

Insider Activity at TransUnion

In related news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 105,443 shares in the company, valued at $10,095,112.82. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 58,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,611,923.60. This represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $383,041 in the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped 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. UBS Group lifted their price objective on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.