Xponance Inc. Acquires 4,274 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 23.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 22,517 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,274 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $2,088,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in TRU. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of TransUnion by 307.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,540,896 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $475,432,000 after acquiring an additional 3,427,199 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in shares of TransUnion in the 3rd quarter worth about $92,661,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 30.6% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,370,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $312,501,000 after buying an additional 789,497 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,426,510 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $463,456,000 after buying an additional 635,581 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,139,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $476,493,000 after buying an additional 356,306 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TRU has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.64.

TransUnion Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TRU opened at $85.41 on Friday. TransUnion has a twelve month low of $66.07 and a twelve month high of $113.17. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $92.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.46. The company has a market capitalization of $16.66 billion, a PE ratio of 58.50, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. 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 (NYSE:TRU) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 6.80%. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This is a boost from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion’s payout ratio is 31.51%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other TransUnion news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 58,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,611,923.60. The trade was a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $174,342.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 105,443 shares in the company, valued at $10,095,112.82. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $383,041. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.