TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Position Lifted by Amica Mutual Insurance Co.

Amica Mutual Insurance Co. grew its stake in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,901 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 546 shares during the period. Amica Mutual Insurance Co.’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $1,196,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of TRU. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in TransUnion by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,066,657 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,674,960,000 after buying an additional 241,019 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position 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 worth $476,493,000 after acquiring an additional 356,306 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of TransUnion by 307.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,540,896 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $475,432,000 after acquiring an additional 3,427,199 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in TransUnion by 16.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,426,510 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $463,456,000 after purchasing an additional 635,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in TransUnion by 30.6% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,370,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $312,501,000 after purchasing an additional 789,497 shares during the period.

TransUnion Stock Down 2.2 %

TRU stock opened at $85.71 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $92.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $16.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. TransUnion has a 52 week low of $66.07 and a 52 week high of $113.17.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last released 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 firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. On average, analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In other TransUnion news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total value of $174,342.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 105,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. This represents a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $383,041. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TRU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.08.

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.