Brandes Investment Partners LP Buys 1,984 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its position in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 32.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,110 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,984 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $601,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in TransUnion by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 179,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,369,000 after purchasing an additional 6,270 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in TransUnion in the 1st quarter valued at $3,900,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in TransUnion by 2.4% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 327,518 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,136,000 after purchasing an additional 7,636 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 24.1% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,468,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $257,250,000 after purchasing an additional 674,187 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in TransUnion by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 460,203 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,621,000 after buying an additional 124,492 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at TransUnion

In other TransUnion news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.65, for a total transaction of $95,650.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 64,488 shares in the company, valued at $6,168,277.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other TransUnion news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.65, for a total value of $95,650.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 64,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,168,277.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jennifer A. Williams sold 405 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.58, for a total value of $38,709.90. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $686,837.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,080 shares of company stock valued at $2,067,454. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on TRU shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on TransUnion from $85.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Needham & Company LLC cut TransUnion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on TransUnion from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America upgraded TransUnion from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of TransUnion from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, TransUnion has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.00.

TransUnion Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:TRU opened at $104.69 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -73.21, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.62. TransUnion has a 1 year low of $42.09 and a 1 year high of $106.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The business services provider reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. TransUnion had a positive return on equity of 15.03% and a negative net margin of 6.11%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current year.

TransUnion Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.105 per share. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio is currently -29.37%.

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.