Sone Capital Management LLC Makes New $10.79 Million Investment in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Sone Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 116,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $10,786,000. TransUnion comprises about 1.4% of Sone Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of TRU. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 10,311 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $956,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in TransUnion by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 3,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in TransUnion by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,642 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in TransUnion by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 733 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its position in TransUnion by 58.7% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 454 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TRU has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America started coverage on shares of TransUnion in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $84.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of TransUnion from $120.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.38.

TransUnion Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:TRU opened at $91.96 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. TransUnion has a fifty-two week low of $66.38 and a fifty-two week high of $113.17. The stock has a market cap of $17.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $81.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.90.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.47%.

TransUnion announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in 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 generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at TransUnion

In related news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 105,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,095,112.82. The trade was a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.31, for a total value of $83,310.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $359,761. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.