ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Makes New Investment in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. has established a new stake in TransUnion by acquiring 25,623 shares valued at approximately $2.1 million.
• TransUnion reported earnings of $1.08 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and demonstrating a 9.5% revenue growth year-over-year.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.115, which reflects a 0.5% yield and a payout ratio of 23%.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 25,623 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,126,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of TransUnion by 105.3% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 423 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of TransUnion in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of TransUnion by 194.1% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 553 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of TransUnion in the fourth quarter worth $58,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of TransUnion by 72.1% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 649 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on TRU shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on TransUnion from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on TransUnion from $124.00 to $118.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of TransUnion from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of TransUnion from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, TransUnion has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $112.46.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.14, for a total transaction of $87,140.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 74,393 shares in the company, valued at $6,482,606.02. This represents a 1.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer A. Williams sold 972 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.89, for a total value of $90,289.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 7,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $660,262.12. This trade represents a 12.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,972 shares of company stock valued at $353,549 over the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

TransUnion Stock Up 2.2%

NYSE TRU traded up $1.91 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $87.91. 2,020,783 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,070,052. TransUnion has a 12 month low of $66.38 and a 12 month high of $113.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $17.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.96, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.65. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.70.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.09. TransUnion had a return on equity of 16.08% and a net margin of 8.99%. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

TransUnion Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.00%.

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.