Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Reduces Position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 522,045 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,134 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $48,399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in TransUnion by 52.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,749,849 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $625,779,000 after buying an additional 2,323,339 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of TransUnion in the 4th quarter valued at about $180,011,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of TransUnion by 30.6% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,370,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $312,501,000 after acquiring an additional 789,497 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in TransUnion by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,044,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $467,709,000 after purchasing an additional 503,969 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP boosted its holdings in TransUnion by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 2,086,050 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $193,398,000 after purchasing an additional 375,736 shares in the last quarter.

TransUnion Stock Performance

NYSE TRU opened at $72.88 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $14.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. TransUnion has a 52-week low of $66.38 and a 52-week high of $113.17. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $84.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.86. 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 the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. On average, equities research analysts expect that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

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

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.115 dividend. This is a boost from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion’s payout ratio is currently 31.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $95,950.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,488 shares in the company, valued at $5,611,923.60. The trade was a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 quarter, insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $372,751. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of TransUnion from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group lifted 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, TransUnion presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.23.

TransUnion Company 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.