Magnetar Financial LLC Acquires New Position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 25,981 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,409,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in 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. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in TransUnion in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of TransUnion by 4,590.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in TransUnion during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in TransUnion in the fourth quarter valued at $51,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of TransUnion 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total transaction of $93,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,568,076.80. This represents a 1.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $383,041 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

TransUnion Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE TRU opened at $85.33 on Friday. TransUnion has a 12 month low of $66.07 and a 12 month high of $113.17. The company has a 50-day moving average of $92.44 and a 200-day moving average of $97.54. The company has a market cap of $16.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.45, a P/E/G 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.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last posted its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. As a group, equities analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

TransUnion declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This is a positive change from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on TRU shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” 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 given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.64.

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.