Natixis Invests $1.54 Million in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Natixis bought a new position in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 16,594 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,538,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of TRU. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in TransUnion by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 700,518 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $64,945,000 after acquiring an additional 22,826 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in TransUnion by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,097 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $194,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of TransUnion by 39.5% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 315,530 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,253,000 after buying an additional 89,340 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of TransUnion by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 26,308 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,439,000 after buying an additional 4,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. grew its stake in TransUnion by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. now owns 191,364 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $17,741,000 after acquiring an additional 46,612 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction of $95,950.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 58,488 shares in the company, valued at $5,611,923.60. This trade represents a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $372,751. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

TransUnion Stock Down 1.9 %

NYSE TRU traded down $1.53 on Monday, reaching $80.56. The company had a trading volume of 247,065 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,662,850. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.72 billion, a PE ratio of 54.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $82.52 and a 200-day moving average of $92.89. TransUnion has a 1 year low of $66.38 and a 1 year high of $113.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.70.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.14). TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. This is a boost from TransUnion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio is 24.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on TransUnion from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group boosted their price target on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on TransUnion from $120.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.38.

TransUnion 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.