Neuberger Berman Group LLC Decreases Stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Key Points

• Neuberger Berman Group LLC sold 7,486 shares of TransUnion, reducing its stake by 0.5%, but still retains approximately 1.59 million shares valued at $132.15 million.
• TransUnion's quarterly earnings report exceeded expectations, with an EPS of $1.08 against a consensus estimate of $0.99 and revenue of $1.14 billion, up 9.5% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.115 per share, with a 0.5% yield and a payout ratio of 23%, payable on September 8th.

Neuberger Berman Group LLC trimmed its stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) by 0.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,592,417 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 7,486 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned about 0.82% of TransUnion worth $132,155,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. S Bank Fund Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of TransUnion in the first quarter valued at about $44,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 79.4% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 546,213 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $45,321,000 after acquiring an additional 241,684 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC raised its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 462.4% in the first quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 13,768 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,143,000 after acquiring an additional 11,320 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 6.4% in the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 61,185 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,072,000 after acquiring an additional 3,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp raised its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 85.1% in the first quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 5,447 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 2,505 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other TransUnion news, CAO Jennifer A. Williams sold 972 shares of the company's 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 represents a 12.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.21, for a total value of $91,210.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 73,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,694,175.53. This represents a 1.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,972 shares of company stock worth $353,549. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on TRU. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of TransUnion from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of TransUnion from $124.00 to $118.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $105.00 target price (up from $98.00) on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of TransUnion from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $112.46.

TransUnion Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of TRU traded down $2.57 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $90.20. 1,357,268 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,159,420. TransUnion has a 1-year low of $66.38 and a 1-year high of $113.17. The company has a quick ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $17.57 billion, a PE ratio of 45.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.65. The business has a 50 day moving average of $90.69 and a 200 day moving average of $87.69.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. TransUnion had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 16.08%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

TransUnion Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. 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.