Sanctuary Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 17,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 830 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $1,714,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Huntington National Bank increased 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 valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in TransUnion by 82.1% in the fourth 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 during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in TransUnion in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 62.6% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 805 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period.

TransUnion Stock Up 1.7 %

TRU stock opened at $93.29 on Tuesday. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $94.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.40. TransUnion has a 52 week low of $66.07 and a 52 week high of $113.17. The company has a market cap of $18.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.63.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 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 firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. On average, research analysts expect that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. This is a boost from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.51%.

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 Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction of $95,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,611,923.60. This trade represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Todd C. Skinner sold 3,090 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.48, for a total transaction of $313,573.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,333 shares in the company, valued at $2,469,312.84. This trade represents a 11.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,590 shares of company stock valued at $654,218 in the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TRU has been the topic of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. 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 increased their price target on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average 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.