Graham Capital Management L.P. Makes New $3.33 Million Investment in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 35,956 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,333,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of TRU. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 52.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,749,849 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $625,779,000 after acquiring an additional 2,323,339 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in TransUnion during the 4th quarter valued at $180,011,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in TransUnion by 30.6% during 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. FMR LLC raised its position in TransUnion by 11.1% during 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. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP raised its position in TransUnion by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 2,086,050 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $193,398,000 after purchasing an additional 375,736 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on TRU shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group boosted their price target on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on TransUnion from $120.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on TransUnion from $130.00 to $117.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.38.

TransUnion Stock Performance

Shares of TRU stock traded down $0.73 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $90.74. The stock had a trading volume of 1,145,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,673,892. The business's fifty day moving average is $81.03 and its 200-day moving average is $91.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market cap of $17.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.15, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. TransUnion has a 1-year low of $66.38 and a 1-year high of $113.17.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. TransUnion had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 6.80%. The company's revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

TransUnion Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. TransUnion's payout ratio is 24.47%.

TransUnion declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at TransUnion

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

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.