TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on the stock from $87.00 to $89.00. The stock had previously closed at $68.68, but opened at $76.36. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. TransUnion shares last traded at $74.90, with a volume of 1,475,059 shares traded.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on TransUnion from $69.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on TransUnion from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on TransUnion from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of TransUnion from $55.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of TransUnion from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $65.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Six 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.60.

Insider Activity

In other TransUnion news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.30, for a total value of $144,307.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 75,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,105,548.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Richard Dane Mauldin sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.10, for a total value of $117,150.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,720,777.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,775 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.30, for a total value of $144,307.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 75,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,105,548.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,275 shares of company stock worth $1,204,538 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TransUnion

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TRU. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,910,715 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,230,645,000 after acquiring an additional 234,123 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors purchased a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $663,001,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 570.4% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,029,897 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $483,024,000 after purchasing an additional 5,981,271 shares during the period. Meritage Group LP grew its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 56.5% in the fourth quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 5,030,424 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $345,640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,815,540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of TransUnion by 23.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,923,690 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $353,472,000 after buying an additional 942,924 shares during the period.

TransUnion Stock Up 8.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $14.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -49.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $76.38 and its 200 day moving average is $67.83.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $954.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $927.04 million. TransUnion had a negative net margin of 7.50% and a positive return on equity of 13.58%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.105 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio is presently -28.19%.

About TransUnion

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.