Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 172,599 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $16,002,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.09% of TransUnion as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 307.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,540,896 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $475,432,000 after buying an additional 3,427,199 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 17.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 19,180,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,008,205,000 after buying an additional 2,840,800 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in shares of TransUnion during the third quarter worth approximately $92,661,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 16.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,426,510 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $463,456,000 after buying an additional 635,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,139,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $476,493,000 after buying an additional 356,306 shares during the last quarter.

TransUnion Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE TRU opened at $83.19 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $16.23 billion, a PE ratio of 56.98, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. The business has a fifty day moving average of $92.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.72. TransUnion has a 52-week low of $66.07 and a 52-week high of $113.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.70.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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 was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This is a positive change from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.51%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TRU has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer cut their price target on TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group upped 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. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.64.

Insider Activity

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

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.