Huntington National Bank Purchases 168 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Huntington National Bank raised its position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 58.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 454 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $42,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 82.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 428 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the 4th quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 733 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter.

TransUnion Stock Performance

TransUnion stock opened at $70.58 on Tuesday. TransUnion has a 1-year low of $66.07 and a 1-year high of $113.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.77 billion, a PE ratio of 48.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.18.

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

TransUnion announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback 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 generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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 issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. This is a positive change from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. TransUnion’s payout ratio is presently 31.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other TransUnion news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction of $95,950.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 58,488 shares in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $372,751. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TRU has been the topic of several research reports. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, TransUnion presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.54.

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.