TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Shares Bought by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,453 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $674,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TRU. Hilltop Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in TransUnion during the third quarter worth about $357,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $676,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 4,590.0% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP acquired a new stake in shares of TransUnion in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,408,000. Finally, PDT Partners LLC increased its stake in TransUnion by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 64,333 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,736,000 after purchasing an additional 10,630 shares in the last quarter.

TransUnion Stock Performance

TransUnion stock opened at $92.95 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $101.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.55. TransUnion has a 52 week low of $63.03 and a 52 week high of $113.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.83, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. TransUnion had a net margin of 5.47% and a return on equity of 15.38%. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.80 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that TransUnion will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current year.

TransUnion Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.105 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,500 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.66, for a total value of $158,490.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 62,988 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,655,312.08. This trade represents a 2.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director George M. Awad sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $1,200,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,702,600. This represents a 30.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,590 shares of company stock valued at $2,084,633 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TRU has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded TransUnion from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of TransUnion from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of TransUnion from $104.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.06.

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.