TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Shares Purchased by Mutual of America Capital Management LLC

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 42.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,060 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $642,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in TransUnion by 12.1% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,308,028 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $136,951,000 after acquiring an additional 140,952 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 307.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,540,896 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $475,432,000 after purchasing an additional 3,427,199 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the 3rd quarter worth $892,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of TransUnion by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 26,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,439,000 after purchasing an additional 4,743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 6,720.7% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 128,706 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,476,000 after purchasing an additional 126,819 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on TRU shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price target 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.64.

TransUnion Price Performance

Shares of TRU opened at $86.37 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.70. The company has a market capitalization of $16.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. TransUnion has a fifty-two week low of $66.07 and a fifty-two week high of $113.17.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last released 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). TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date 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 declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan 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 plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were 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 $10,095,112.82. This represents a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $383,041 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

TransUnion 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.