TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Shares Sold by Theleme Partners LLP

Theleme Partners LLP decreased its stake in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) by 32.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,480,357 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 725,000 shares during the period. TransUnion accounts for approximately 9.2% of Theleme Partners LLP's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Theleme Partners LLP owned about 0.76% of TransUnion worth $137,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in TRU. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in TransUnion during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in TransUnion by 58.7% during the 4th 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. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in TransUnion during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in TransUnion during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new stake in TransUnion during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other TransUnion news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total transaction of $174,342.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 105,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,095,112.82. This represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total value of $82,960.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,337,563.28. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $359,761. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

TransUnion Stock Down 8.9%

NYSE TRU traded down $8.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $82.36. 5,579,485 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,685,196. The company's 50-day moving average is $81.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.78. TransUnion has a one year low of $66.38 and a one year high of $113.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.70. The company has a market capitalization of $16.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.07. TransUnion had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 6.80%. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. TransUnion's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

TransUnion Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. TransUnion's payout ratio is 24.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TRU has been the subject of several recent research reports. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Monday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on TransUnion from $130.00 to $117.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays dropped their price objective on TransUnion from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on TransUnion from $120.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $109.38.

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.