Platinum Investment Management Ltd. Sells 167,203 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Platinum Investment Management Ltd. trimmed its stake in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,722,276 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 167,203 shares during the period. TransUnion makes up about 9.4% of Platinum Investment Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.88% of TransUnion worth $159,672,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of TransUnion by 1.0% during the third 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. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in shares of TransUnion by 84.5% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 286 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of TransUnion by 1.0% during 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of TransUnion by 14.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of TransUnion by 4.0% during 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on TRU. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.64.

Insider Activity at TransUnion

In related news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 58,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,611,923.60. This trade represents a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 105,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. This trade represents a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $383,041. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

TransUnion Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE:TRU opened at $83.19 on Wednesday. TransUnion has a 12 month low of $66.07 and a 12 month high of $113.17. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $92.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.72. The firm has a market cap of $16.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.98, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 EPS 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 company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. This is a positive change from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.51%.

TransUnion declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.