KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New $6.18 Million Investment in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 66,700 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,184,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of TRU. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 700,518 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $64,945,000 after buying an additional 22,826 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in TransUnion by 307.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,540,896 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $475,432,000 after acquiring an additional 3,427,199 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new position in TransUnion during the 3rd quarter worth about $892,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in TransUnion by 62.1% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,097 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $194,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 26,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,439,000 after purchasing an additional 4,743 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on TRU. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Friday, February 14th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Monday. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, TransUnion currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.64.

TransUnion Price Performance

NYSE TRU opened at $87.64 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $17.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.03, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $92.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.40. TransUnion has a 1 year low of $66.07 and a 1 year high of $113.17.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. TransUnion had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 6.80%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is a positive change from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.51%.

TransUnion announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. This trade represents a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total value of $93,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 59,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,568,076.80. The trade was a 1.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $383,041 over the last 90 days. 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.