Bank of Nova Scotia Has $311,000 Stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Key Points

• The Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its stake in TransUnion by 51.3% in the first quarter, now holding 3,744 shares valued at approximately $311,000.
• Institutional investors are actively modifying their holdings of TransUnion, with Massachusetts Financial Services increasing its stake by 10.9% and Candlestick Capital Management boosting its investment by a substantial 87.1%.
• TransUnion reported earnings of $1.08 per share, surpassing expectations, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.115 to be paid on September 8th, representing a yield of 0.5%.

Bank of Nova Scotia decreased its position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) by 51.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,744 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,946 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in TransUnion were worth $311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in TransUnion by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 21,674,473 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,798,765,000 after acquiring an additional 2,134,342 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,146,693 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $261,144,000 after purchasing an additional 418,693 shares during the period. Independent Franchise Partners LLP grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 2,086,050 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $193,398,000 after purchasing an additional 375,736 shares during the period. XN LP grew its position in TransUnion by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. XN LP now owns 1,907,775 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $176,870,000 after acquiring an additional 54,330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in TransUnion by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,642,413 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $152,273,000 after acquiring an additional 70,359 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on TRU shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on TransUnion from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on TransUnion from $120.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective (up from $98.00) on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $112.46.

TransUnion Price Performance

NYSE:TRU traded up $1.91 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $87.91. The stock had a trading volume of 2,020,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,069,551. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.02. TransUnion has a 12 month low of $66.38 and a 12 month high of $113.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.12 billion, a PE ratio of 43.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.65. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.70.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.09. TransUnion had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 16.08%. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. TransUnion's revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

TransUnion Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In related news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.21, for a total value of $91,210.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 73,393 shares in the company, valued at $6,694,175.53. The trade was a 1.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jennifer A. Williams sold 972 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.89, for a total transaction of $90,289.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 7,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $660,262.12. The trade was a 12.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 3,972 shares of company stock worth $353,549. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.