Tidal Investments LLC Purchases 92,234 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 2,513.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 95,904 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 92,234 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $8,891,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in TransUnion by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 10,311 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $956,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in TransUnion by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 3,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 period. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 58.7% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 454 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period.

TransUnion Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of TRU opened at $91.94 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $17.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. 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 has a 12 month low of $66.38 and a 12 month high of $113.17. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $81.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.85.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. TransUnion’s payout ratio is 24.47%.

TransUnion announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase 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 buy up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on TRU shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $84.00 target price for the company. Barclays reduced 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 reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of TransUnion from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.38.

Insider Transactions at TransUnion

In related news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $10,095,112.82. This trade represents a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total transaction of $82,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,337,563.28. This represents a 1.29% 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 $359,761. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.