Capital International Inc. CA Increases Stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Capital International Inc. CA raised its stake in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 62.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 49,567 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,032 shares during the quarter. Capital International Inc. CA’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $4,595,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MML Investors Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of TransUnion in the 3rd quarter worth $623,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of TransUnion in the 3rd quarter worth about $444,000. American Trust acquired a new position in shares of TransUnion in the 3rd quarter valued at about $242,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 1,428.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 226,771 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $23,743,000 after purchasing an additional 211,934 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in TransUnion by 82.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 428 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter.

TransUnion Trading Down 1.2 %

TransUnion stock opened at $72.88 on Monday. TransUnion has a 1 year low of $66.38 and a 1 year high of $113.17. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $84.57 and its 200-day moving average is $93.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.70. The company has a market cap of $14.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.92, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last issued its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. TransUnion had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 6.80%. On average, equities analysts expect that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

TransUnion announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This is a positive change from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other TransUnion news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 105,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. This represents a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction of $95,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 58,488 shares in the company, valued at $5,611,923.60. The trade was a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $372,751 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lowered their target price on 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 reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on TransUnion in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $84.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, TransUnion has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.23.

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.