Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Has $521,000 Position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,615 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 625 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in TRU. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in TransUnion by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 10,211 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,069,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of TransUnion by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of TransUnion by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 3,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,642 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter.

TransUnion Stock Performance

TransUnion stock opened at $85.41 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. TransUnion has a twelve month low of $66.07 and a twelve month high of $113.17. The company has a market capitalization of $16.66 billion, a PE ratio of 58.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. Research analysts expect that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors 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 boost from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.51%.

TransUnion announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on TRU shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.64.

Insider Activity at TransUnion

In other TransUnion news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were 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 directly owns 59,488 shares in the company, valued at $5,568,076.80. This trade represents a 1.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the company’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. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,021 shares of company stock worth $383,041 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.