Bayesian Capital Management LP Acquires New Holdings in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 23,382 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,168,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of TransUnion during the third quarter valued at approximately $444,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 1,428.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 226,771 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $23,743,000 after acquiring an additional 211,934 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised 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 buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in TransUnion in the fourth quarter valued at about $251,000.

TransUnion Price Performance

TRU stock traded up $1.27 during trading on Thursday, hitting $86.51. 1,090,636 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,668,344. TransUnion has a 52 week low of $66.38 and a 52 week high of $113.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.70.

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

TransUnion Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.47%.

TransUnion announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on TransUnion from $120.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total transaction of $174,342.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.31, for a total transaction of $83,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 77,393 shares in the company, valued at $6,447,610.83. This represents a 1.28 % decrease in their position. 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. 0.25% of the stock is 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.