Sterling Capital Management LLC Has $1.02 Million Position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 53.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,848 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $1,022,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in TransUnion by 14.5% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,453 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $674,000 after buying an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 5,675 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $594,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of TransUnion during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $623,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in TransUnion in the 3rd quarter valued at $211,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in TransUnion during the 3rd quarter valued at $444,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on TRU shares. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Monday, March 24th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays lowered their target price on TransUnion from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.23.

TransUnion Stock Up 0.5 %

TRU stock opened at $75.17 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $14.67 billion, a PE ratio of 51.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. TransUnion has a 52 week low of $66.07 and a 52 week high of $113.17. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $85.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.61.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.14). The firm 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This is an increase from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.51%.

TransUnion announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other TransUnion news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total value of $95,950.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 value of $174,342.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $372,751. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.