Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 7,512 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Hsbc Holdings PLC lessened its stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 114,283 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 7,512 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.06% of TransUnion worth $10,597,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of TransUnion by 82.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 428 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of TransUnion during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in shares of TransUnion by 58.7% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 454 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of TransUnion during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in shares of TransUnion during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on TRU. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America began coverage on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $84.00 price objective for the company. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $120.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, TransUnion has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total value of $174,342.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 105,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. This represents a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.31, for a total transaction of $83,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 77,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,447,610.83. This represents a 1.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,021 shares of company stock worth $372,751 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

TransUnion Stock Up 0.9 %

TRU stock traded up $0.76 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $83.72. The company had a trading volume of 1,659,866 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,666,266. The company has a 50 day moving average of $81.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. TransUnion has a 1 year low of $66.38 and a 1 year high of $113.17. The company has a market capitalization of $16.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.34, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67.

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

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. This is a boost from TransUnion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion's payout ratio is currently 24.47%.

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

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.