BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Raises Position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its stake in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 261.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,935 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,703 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $1,755,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 10,311 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $956,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 1.0% in the 4th 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 raised its position in TransUnion by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,642 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period.

Insider Activity at TransUnion

In other news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.31, for a total transaction of $83,310.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 77,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,447,610.83. The trade was a 1.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the 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 directly owns 105,443 shares in the company, valued at $10,095,112.82. This represents a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $372,751 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer dropped 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, TransUnion has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.23.

TransUnion Price Performance

TransUnion stock opened at $70.75 on Tuesday. TransUnion has a 1 year low of $66.38 and a 1 year high of $113.17. The stock has a market cap of $13.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $84.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.70.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for 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, research analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

TransUnion declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This is an increase from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. TransUnion’s payout ratio is currently 31.51%.

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.