Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Trims Stock Position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 98,348 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,362 shares during the period. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $9,070,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of TRU. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 10,211 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,069,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in TransUnion by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in TransUnion by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 3,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,642 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period.

TransUnion Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:TRU opened at $87.64 on Wednesday. TransUnion has a one year low of $66.07 and a one year high of $113.17. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.40. 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 stock has a market cap of $17.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last released its earnings results 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). TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. This is a positive change from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.51%.

Insider Transactions at TransUnion

In other news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total value of $95,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 58,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,611,923.60. This trade represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 105,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. This represents a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $383,041. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on TRU shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Monday. 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 research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, TransUnion currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.64.

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.