US Bancorp DE Sells 1,765 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

US Bancorp DE lowered its position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 13.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,995 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,765 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $1,019,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of TRU. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of TransUnion by 42.4% during the fourth quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 6,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $642,000 after buying an additional 2,060 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,024 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $929,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in TransUnion during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. increased its position in TransUnion by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 75,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,011,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FFT Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 40.8% during the fourth quarter. FFT Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,707 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 1,075 shares during the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 105,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. This represents a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total value of $95,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,611,923.60. The trade was a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $383,041. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on TRU shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group increased their target price on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Five 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, TransUnion currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.64.

TransUnion Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of TRU opened at $86.37 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.15, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. TransUnion has a 52 week low of $66.07 and a 52 week high of $113.17. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $93.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.40. 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 (NYSE:TRU) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. TransUnion had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 6.80%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

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

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a $0.115 dividend. This is a boost from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. TransUnion’s payout ratio is presently 31.51%.

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.