3,127 Shares in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Acquired by Dark Forest Capital Management LP

Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 3,127 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $290,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of TransUnion in the 3rd quarter worth about $444,000. American Trust purchased a new stake in shares of TransUnion in the third quarter valued at $242,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 1,428.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 226,771 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $23,743,000 after buying an additional 211,934 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in TransUnion by 82.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 428 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in TransUnion by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period.

TransUnion Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TRU traded up $1.58 during trading on Friday, hitting $85.09. 1,593,273 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,665,060. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $81.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.42. The company has a market cap of $16.60 billion, a PE ratio of 58.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. TransUnion has a 12-month low of $66.38 and a 12-month high of $113.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

TransUnion announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits 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 shares are 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. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. This is a positive change from TransUnion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.47%.

Insider Transactions at TransUnion

In related news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the company'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. This represents a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.31, for a total value of $83,310.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 77,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,447,610.83. This represents a 1.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,021 shares of company stock worth $455,711 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on TRU. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $84.00 price target for the company. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group raised 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. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.