Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $996,000 Holdings in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its stake in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,740 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 345 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $996,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in TransUnion by 82.1% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 428 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of TransUnion in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of TransUnion by 4,590.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of TransUnion during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of TransUnion in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on TRU shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, TransUnion has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.64.

Insider Activity at TransUnion

In related news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total value of $95,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 58,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,611,923.60. This represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total transaction of $174,342.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 105,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,095,112.82. This trade represents a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $383,041. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

TransUnion Stock Performance

NYSE TRU opened at $85.41 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $92.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.50. TransUnion has a 1 year low of $66.07 and a 1 year high of $113.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last issued its 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). The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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 issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. 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 0.54%. TransUnion’s payout ratio is presently 31.51%.

TransUnion announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.