Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 91,492 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 42.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 304,529 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 91,492 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $28,233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in TransUnion by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 worth $334,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in TransUnion by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,642 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in TransUnion by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 733 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter.

TransUnion Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of TransUnion stock opened at $69.20 on Wednesday. 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 cap of $13.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.40, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $88.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.74. TransUnion has a 1 year low of $66.07 and a 1 year high of $113.17.

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

TransUnion declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This is an increase from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.51%.

Insider Transactions at TransUnion

In related news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.31, for a total transaction of $83,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 77,393 shares in the company, valued at $6,447,610.83. The trade was a 1.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, 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 three months, insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $372,751. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on TRU. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group upped their target price on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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, Barclays decreased their target price on TransUnion from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, TransUnion currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.54.

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.