Bryce Point Capital LLC Buys Shares of 4,960 TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Bryce Point Capital LLC purchased a new stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 4,960 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $460,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of TRU. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in TransUnion by 52.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,749,849 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $625,779,000 after buying an additional 2,323,339 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the fourth quarter valued at about $180,011,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 30.6% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,370,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $312,501,000 after acquiring an additional 789,497 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of TransUnion by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 19,540,131 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,811,566,000 after purchasing an additional 359,569 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in TransUnion by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,139,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $476,493,000 after purchasing an additional 356,306 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TRU has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays decreased their price target on TransUnion from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.54.

Insider Transactions at TransUnion

In related 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,611,923.60. The trade was a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total value of $174,342.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 105,443 shares in the company, 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $372,751. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

TransUnion Price Performance

TransUnion stock opened at $71.10 on Friday. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.48. The stock has a market cap of $13.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. TransUnion has a 12-month low of $66.07 and a 12-month high of $113.17.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. Equities analysts expect that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. This is a boost from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.51%.

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

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.