T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Trims Position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,382,929 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 317,257 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned 1.74% of TransUnion worth $313,632,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in TRU. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the 3rd quarter valued at about $444,000. American Trust purchased a new stake in TransUnion in the 3rd quarter worth about $242,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in TransUnion by 1,428.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 226,771 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $23,743,000 after purchasing an additional 211,934 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in TransUnion by 82.1% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 428 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Finally, 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 acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter.

TransUnion Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of TRU stock traded up $0.26 on Tuesday, hitting $81.87. 300,009 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,662,792. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $82.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.98 billion, a PE ratio of 56.01, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. TransUnion has a twelve month low of $66.38 and a twelve month high of $113.17.

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

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

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.115 dividend. This is an increase from TransUnion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.47%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total transaction of $174,342.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 105,443 shares in the company, valued at $10,095,112.82. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.31, for a total transaction of $83,310.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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. 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 company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on TRU. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $117.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment 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.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.38.

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.