The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Acquires 341,531 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) by 3,274.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 351,960 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 341,531 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.18% of TransUnion worth $32,630,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of TRU. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of TransUnion in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Huntington National Bank grew its position in TransUnion by 58.7% during the fourth 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 acquired a new position in TransUnion in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in TransUnion in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In related news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total value of $82,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 76,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,337,563.28. This represents a 1.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,021 shares of company stock valued at $455,711 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on TRU. Bank of America started coverage on TransUnion in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $84.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on TransUnion from $130.00 to $117.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of TransUnion from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.38.

TransUnion Stock Performance

NYSE:TRU traded up $1.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $85.09. 1,593,273 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,666,688. 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 50 day moving average of $81.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. TransUnion has a 12 month low of $66.38 and a 12 month 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. TransUnion's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. This is a positive change from TransUnion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion's payout ratio is currently 24.47%.

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.