Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Sells 1,229 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. cut its position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 243,856 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,229 shares during the quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $22,608,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of TransUnion in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in TransUnion by 58.7% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 454 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in TransUnion in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in TransUnion in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of TransUnion during the fourth quarter worth $47,000.

TransUnion Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE:TRU opened at $91.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $81.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $90.97. TransUnion has a 1-year low of $66.38 and a 1-year high of $113.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.99, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. TransUnion had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 6.80%. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

TransUnion Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. TransUnion’s payout ratio is presently 24.47%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on TRU. UBS Group raised their price objective on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of TransUnion from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Monday, March 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total value of $82,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 76,393 shares in the company, valued at $6,337,563.28. The trade was a 1.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 105,443 shares in the company, 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 90 days, insiders have sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $359,761. Corporate 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.