TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Shares Sold by Bank of America Corp DE

Bank of America Corp DE lessened its stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) by 28.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 765,025 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 306,060 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.39% of TransUnion worth $70,925,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in TransUnion by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 10,013 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $928,000 after acquiring an additional 3,553 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new stake in TransUnion during the 4th quarter worth $3,829,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in TransUnion during the 4th quarter worth $924,000. Comerica Bank boosted its stake in TransUnion by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 235,839 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $21,865,000 after purchasing an additional 32,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in TransUnion during the 4th quarter worth $47,000.

Insider Activity at TransUnion

In other news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total value of $82,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,337,563.28. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total value of $174,342.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 105,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. This represents a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $359,761 over the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

TransUnion Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:TRU traded up $0.56 on Thursday, reaching $91.19. 1,073,643 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,668,607. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $17.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. The business has a fifty day moving average of $81.23 and a 200-day moving average of $91.13. TransUnion has a 52-week low of $66.38 and a 52-week high of $113.17.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

TransUnion announced that its board has approved a share 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 buy up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

TransUnion Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on TRU shares. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of TransUnion from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. 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. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $117.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Monday, March 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, TransUnion presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.38.

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.