TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Insider Steven M. Chaouki Sells 1,000 Shares

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total value of $82,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 76,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,337,563.28. The trade was a 1.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

TransUnion Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE TRU opened at $85.09 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $81.41 and its 200-day moving average is $92.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.28, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. TransUnion has a one year low of $66.38 and a one year high of $113.17.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.07. TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

TransUnion declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 reacquire up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This is a positive change from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. TransUnion’s payout ratio is presently 24.47%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TransUnion

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TRU. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in TransUnion by 2.6% during the first quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 46,015 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,819,000 after purchasing an additional 1,174 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in TransUnion by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,146,693 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $261,144,000 after buying an additional 418,693 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in TransUnion by 68.2% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 7,078 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $587,000 after buying an additional 2,869 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in TransUnion by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 21,674,473 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,798,765,000 after acquiring an additional 2,134,342 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of TransUnion by 33.0% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 943 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on TRU shares. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Bank of America started coverage on TransUnion in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $84.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on TransUnion from $130.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, TransUnion presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.38.

About TransUnion

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.