Hunting Hill Global Capital LLC Takes Position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Hunting Hill Global Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 5,040 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $467,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of TRU. MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TransUnion in the third quarter valued at approximately $623,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in TransUnion during the 3rd quarter worth $444,000. American Trust acquired a new position in TransUnion in the 3rd quarter valued at $242,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in TransUnion by 1,428.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 226,771 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $23,743,000 after acquiring an additional 211,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of TransUnion by 82.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 428 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period.

Insider Activity at TransUnion

In other news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.31, for a total value of $83,310.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 77,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,447,610.83. The trade was a 1.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the company’s 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 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. Insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $372,751 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

TransUnion Price Performance

Shares of TRU opened at $72.88 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market cap of $14.22 billion, a PE ratio of 49.92, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. TransUnion has a 12-month low of $66.38 and a 12-month high of $113.17. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.86.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. TransUnion had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 6.80%. Analysts anticipate 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 shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.115 dividend. This is a boost from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. TransUnion’s payout ratio is currently 31.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on TRU shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, TransUnion presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.23.

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.