Venkat Achanta Sells 1,821 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Stock

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total transaction of $174,342.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 105,443 shares in the company, valued at $10,095,112.82. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

TransUnion Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:TRU opened at $92.55 on Friday. TransUnion has a one year low of $66.07 and a one year high of $113.17. 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 50-day simple moving average is $94.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.39, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.63.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. TransUnion had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 6.80%. As a group, analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This is an increase from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.51%.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TRU. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 84.5% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 286 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 82.1% during 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 last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of TransUnion during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of TransUnion during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in shares of TransUnion during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TRU has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, TransUnion has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.64.

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.