TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Shares Bought by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,642,413 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 70,359 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.84% of TransUnion worth $152,273,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of TransUnion by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 10,311 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $956,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in TransUnion by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,597 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,261,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in TransUnion by 14.4% during 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. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in TransUnion by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 3,608 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of TransUnion by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,642 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period.

TransUnion Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of TransUnion stock traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $82.96. The stock had a trading volume of 1,716,827 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,666,293. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $81.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.58. The firm has a market cap of $16.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. TransUnion has a 12-month low of $66.38 and a 12-month high of $113.17.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 6.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

TransUnion announced that its board has initiated a share buyback 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 often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. This is an increase 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 Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In other TransUnion news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total transaction of $174,342.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 105,443 shares in the company, valued at $10,095,112.82. This represents a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of TransUnion 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,611,923.60. This represents a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $372,751 over the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on TRU shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on TransUnion from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group raised their price objective on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.38.

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.