TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Stock Position Lifted by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,484 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $416,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 84.5% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 286 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 82.1% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 428 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of TransUnion in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 4,590.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of TransUnion in the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on TRU shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on TransUnion from $103.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on TransUnion from $104.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Friday, February 14th. 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 note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.64.

Insider Transactions at TransUnion

In related news, Director George M. Awad sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,702,600. The trade was a 30.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Todd C. Skinner sold 3,090 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.48, for a total transaction of $313,573.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,469,312.84. The trade was a 11.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,590 shares of company stock valued at $1,854,218 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

TransUnion Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TRU opened at $96.46 on Thursday. 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 capitalization of $18.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.07, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.63. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.12. TransUnion has a 52-week low of $66.07 and a 52-week high of $113.17.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. TransUnion had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 6.80%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This is a boost from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.51%.

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

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.