Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $1.81 Billion Stock Holdings in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,540,131 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 359,569 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 10.03% of TransUnion worth $1,811,566,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 10,211 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in TransUnion by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in TransUnion by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in TransUnion by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 3,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in TransUnion by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,642 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period.

TransUnion Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:TRU opened at $83.76 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $16.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. TransUnion has a 12 month low of $66.07 and a 12 month high of $113.17. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $91.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.92.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.14). TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. This is an increase from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion’s payout ratio is presently 31.51%.

Insider Activity

In other TransUnion news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total transaction of $93,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,568,076.80. The trade was a 1.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 105,443 shares in the company, valued at $10,095,112.82. This trade represents a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $383,041 over the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on TRU shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Monday, March 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.08.

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.