Two Sigma Advisers LP Takes $1.02 Million Position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new position in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 11,000 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,020,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of TRU. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 52.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,749,849 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $625,779,000 after buying an additional 2,323,339 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the fourth quarter worth about $180,011,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the fourth quarter worth about $74,283,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in TransUnion by 30.6% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,370,742 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $312,501,000 after purchasing an additional 789,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in TransUnion by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,044,865 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $467,709,000 after purchasing an additional 503,969 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity at TransUnion

In related news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total transaction of $82,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,393 shares in the company, valued at $6,337,563.28. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 3,000 shares of company stock worth $251,180 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on TRU shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on TransUnion from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Bank of America began coverage on TransUnion in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $84.00 target price for the company. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on TransUnion from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One research 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 MarketBeat.com, TransUnion has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.69.

TransUnion Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:TRU traded down $1.04 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $86.15. 2,110,989 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,716,443. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $81.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market cap of $16.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. TransUnion has a fifty-two week low of $66.38 and a fifty-two week high of $113.17.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

TransUnion Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.47%.

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.