Assetmark Inc. Lowers Holdings in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Key Points

• Assetmark Inc. reduced its stake in TransUnion by 2.8%, selling 5,871 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to 206,135 shares valued at approximately $17.1 million.
• Several large investors, including Avantax Advisory Services Inc. and Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc., increased their positions in TransUnion, indicating ongoing interest in the stock.
• TransUnion reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.08, surpassing analyst expectations, while also announcing a quarterly dividend with a yield of 0.46%.

Assetmark Inc. lowered its position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 206,135 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 5,871 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. owned about 0.11% of TransUnion worth $17,107,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 105.3% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 423 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in TransUnion during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 58.7% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 454 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in TransUnion by 194.1% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 553 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in shares of TransUnion in the fourth quarter worth $47,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on TRU shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on TransUnion from $120.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of TransUnion from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of TransUnion from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus 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 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 74,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,482,606.02. This trade represents a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 3,000 shares of company stock worth $255,010 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

TransUnion Stock Performance

NYSE:TRU traded down $1.02 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $97.88. 153,597 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,070,266. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.02. The company's 50 day moving average price is $89.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.90. TransUnion has a 52-week low of $66.38 and a 52-week high of $113.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.89, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.63.

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

TransUnion Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd were paid a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio 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.