Neuberger Berman Group LLC Sells 1,097,162 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Neuberger Berman Group LLC decreased its position in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 40.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,599,903 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,097,162 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $148,327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in TransUnion by 52.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,749,849 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $625,779,000 after acquiring an additional 2,323,339 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in TransUnion in the fourth quarter worth about $180,011,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in TransUnion by 30.6% during the fourth 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 last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in TransUnion by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,044,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $467,709,000 after purchasing an additional 503,969 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in TransUnion by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 19,540,131 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,811,566,000 after acquiring an additional 359,569 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TRU has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of TransUnion from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.54.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction of $95,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 58,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,611,923.60. This trade represents a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the company’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 owns 105,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,021 shares of company stock worth $372,751 over the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

TransUnion Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TRU opened at $80.99 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.47. The stock has a market cap of $15.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.47, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. TransUnion has a 12 month low of $66.07 and a 12 month high of $113.17.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. As a group, analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. This is a boost from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion’s payout ratio is currently 31.51%.

TransUnion declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan 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 reacquire up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.