TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Shares Purchased by Ieq Capital LLC

Ieq Capital LLC raised its stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 399.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 34,180 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,331 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $3,169,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Huntington National Bank raised its position in TransUnion by 84.5% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 286 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in TransUnion by 82.1% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in TransUnion by 4,590.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in TransUnion in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in TransUnion in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000.

TransUnion Stock Down 2.9 %

TransUnion stock opened at $91.75 on Friday. TransUnion has a twelve month low of $66.07 and a twelve month high of $113.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $94.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.84, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.63.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.14). TransUnion had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 6.80%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a $0.115 dividend. This is a boost from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.77%.

TransUnion announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on TRU. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.64.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Todd C. Skinner sold 3,090 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.48, for a total value of $313,573.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,469,312.84. This trade represents a 11.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director George M. Awad sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $1,200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,702,600. This represents a 30.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,590 shares of company stock valued at $1,854,218 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

TransUnion 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.