Virtu Financial LLC Increases Stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC significantly increased its stake in TransUnion by 253.4%, acquiring a total of 11,396 shares valued at approximately $946,000 in the first quarter.
• Multiple hedge funds, including Teacher Retirement System of Texas and Amalgamated Bank, have also increased or established positions in TransUnion, demonstrating strong institutional interest in the company.
• TransUnion announced a quarterly dividend of $0.115, with an annualized yield of 0.5%, which will be paid to stockholders on September 8th.

Virtu Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) by 253.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,396 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 8,171 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC's holdings in TransUnion were worth $946,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in TransUnion by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 10,311 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $956,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC raised its stake in TransUnion by 1.4% in the first quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 11,380 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $944,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV raised its stake in TransUnion by 3.2% in the first quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 6,232 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $517,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of TransUnion by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,390 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV raised its stake in shares of TransUnion by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 23,697 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,220,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other TransUnion news, CAO Jennifer A. Williams sold 972 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.89, for a total value of $90,289.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 7,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $660,262.12. This trade represents a 12.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 73,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,694,175.53. The trade was a 1.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 3,972 shares of company stock valued at $353,549. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on TRU. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of TransUnion from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 price target (up from $98.00) on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Friday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of TransUnion from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of TransUnion from $120.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of TransUnion from $124.00 to $118.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $112.46.

TransUnion Trading Up 5.6%

TRU stock traded up $4.93 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $92.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,210,185 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,190,877. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 2.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.74. TransUnion has a 1 year low of $66.38 and a 1 year high of $113.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.41, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.65.

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

TransUnion Announces Dividend

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

TransUnion Company Profile

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.