William Blair Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 30.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,370,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 789,497 shares during the period. TransUnion makes up approximately 0.8% of William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $312,501,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in TransUnion by 84.5% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 286 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew 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 acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in TransUnion in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in TransUnion in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In other TransUnion news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 105,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. This trade represents a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 58,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,611,923.60. This trade represents a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $383,041. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on TRU. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 report on Friday, January 10th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.64.

TransUnion Price Performance

Shares of TRU stock opened at $82.44 on Monday. TransUnion has a 1-year low of $66.07 and a 1-year high of $113.17. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $92.91 and its 200 day moving average is $97.88. The company has a market cap of $16.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.47, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.70.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last released its quarterly 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). TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. Research analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This is a boost from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.51%.

About TransUnion

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.