Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) by 64.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 438,969 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 785,372 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.22% of TransUnion worth $36,430,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in TRU. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 105.3% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 423 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in TransUnion in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in 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 during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in TransUnion during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new stake in TransUnion during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000.

TransUnion Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of TRU traded up $1.45 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $91.61. The company had a trading volume of 1,028,754 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,791,046. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $86.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.76. TransUnion has a 52-week low of $66.38 and a 52-week high of $113.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a current ratio of 2.05.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. TransUnion had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 16.18%. TransUnion's revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd were given a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.14, for a total value of $87,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 74,393 shares in the company, valued at $6,482,606.02. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,000 shares of company stock worth $255,010. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on TRU. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on TransUnion from $120.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of TransUnion from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $84.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $117.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Monday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $109.69.

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.