Candriam S.C.A. Buys 2,382 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Candriam S.C.A. boosted its stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 16.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 17,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,382 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $1,587,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Huntington National Bank raised its position in TransUnion by 84.5% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 286 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of TransUnion by 4,590.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of TransUnion in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of TransUnion in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000.

Insider Transactions at TransUnion

In other news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the business’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 value of $95,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,611,923.60. The trade was a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 105,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $383,041. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

TransUnion Price Performance

TRU stock opened at $86.37 on Monday. 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 has a one year low of $66.07 and a one year high of $113.17. The stock has a market cap of $16.85 billion, a PE ratio of 59.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.40.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 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 company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. On average, analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. This is a positive change from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion’s payout ratio is presently 31.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TRU has been the topic of several research reports. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.64.

TransUnion Company 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.