Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Increases Stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 167,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,690 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned about 0.09% of TransUnion worth $15,537,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TRU. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in TransUnion by 82.1% in 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 acquired a new stake in shares of TransUnion in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 4,590.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in TransUnion during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in TransUnion in the fourth quarter worth $51,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.08.

Insider Activity at TransUnion

In related news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the company’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 transaction of $95,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 58,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,611,923.60. This represents a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total transaction of $174,342.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 105,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. This trade represents a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $383,041. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

TransUnion Trading Down 2.8 %

TransUnion stock opened at $82.27 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $91.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.13. TransUnion has a 52 week low of $66.07 and a 52 week high of $113.17. The stock has a market cap of $16.05 billion, a PE ratio of 56.35, a P/E/G 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. Equities research analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. This is an increase from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion’s payout ratio is currently 31.51%.

TransUnion declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors 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.