Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 75,981 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA cut its stake in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,522,293 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 75,981 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $141,132,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in TransUnion by 82.1% during 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 grew its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 4,590.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in TransUnion in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in TransUnion by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 733 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on TRU shares. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.08.

TransUnion Stock Down 2.8 %

NYSE TRU opened at $82.27 on Friday. TransUnion has a 52 week low of $66.07 and a 52 week high of $113.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $16.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $91.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.13.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict 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 was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This is a positive change from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.51%.

TransUnion declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In other TransUnion news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total value of $95,950.00. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total value of $174,342.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 105,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $383,041 over the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.