Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $16 Million in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 172,599 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $16,002,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.09% of TransUnion as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in TRU. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,597 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in TransUnion by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its stake in TransUnion by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 3,608 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,642 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 733 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity at TransUnion

In other TransUnion news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total transaction of $174,342.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 105,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. This trade represents a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total value of $95,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 58,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,611,923.60. This represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $372,751 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

TransUnion Stock Down 0.4 %

TRU traded down $0.34 on Friday, hitting $82.13. The company had a trading volume of 2,125,656 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,669,216. TransUnion has a 52-week low of $66.38 and a 52-week high of $113.17. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.06. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $16.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. As a group, equities analysts expect that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. This is an increase from TransUnion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on TRU. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Bank of America initiated coverage on TransUnion in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $84.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on TransUnion from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $117.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, TransUnion presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.38.

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.