CenterBook Partners LP Boosts Stock Position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

CenterBook Partners LP raised its stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 474.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,748 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 46,865 shares during the quarter. CenterBook Partners LP’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $5,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in 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 valued at $64,945,000 after buying an additional 22,826 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of TransUnion in the 3rd quarter worth $892,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,097 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $194,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in TransUnion by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 26,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,439,000 after purchasing an additional 4,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TT International Asset Management LTD lifted its position in TransUnion by 426.4% in the third quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD now owns 26,853 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,811,000 after purchasing an additional 21,752 shares during the period.

TransUnion Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of TRU opened at $69.20 on Wednesday. TransUnion has a fifty-two week low of $66.07 and a fifty-two week high of $113.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $88.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.70. The company has a market capitalization of $13.50 billion, a PE ratio of 47.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share 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 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, analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. This is an increase from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.51%.

TransUnion declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding 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 often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Monday, March 24th. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, TransUnion currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In other news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $95,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 58,488 shares in the company, valued at $5,611,923.60. The trade was a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,021 shares of company stock worth $372,751 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.