TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.12 Per Share

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 13th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of 0.115 per share by the business services provider on Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. This is a positive change from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11.

TransUnion has increased its dividend by an average of 5.3% annually over the last three years. TransUnion has a payout ratio of 8.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect TransUnion to earn $3.99 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.42 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 10.5%.

TransUnion Stock Performance

Shares of TransUnion stock opened at $93.46 on Thursday. TransUnion has a one year low of $66.07 and a one year high of $113.17. The company has a market capitalization of $18.22 billion, a PE ratio of 81.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.75.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). TransUnion had a return on equity of 15.38% and a net margin of 5.47%. Research analysts expect that TransUnion will post 3.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at TransUnion

In other TransUnion news, insider Todd C. Skinner sold 3,090 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.48, for a total transaction of $313,573.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 24,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,469,312.84. This trade represents a 11.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, 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 sold 18,590 shares of company stock worth $1,854,218 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on TRU. Jefferies Financial Group decreased 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on TransUnion from $103.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.63.

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.