Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Has $385,000 Stock Position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) by 330.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,157 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,192 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in TransUnion were worth $385,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 82.1% in the fourth 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 acquired a new position in shares of TransUnion in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of TransUnion in the fourth quarter worth $47,000.

Insider Activity at TransUnion

In other news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction of $95,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,611,923.60. This trade represents a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $10,095,112.82. This trade represents a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,021 shares of company stock valued at $455,711 in the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

TransUnion Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE TRU traded up $1.58 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $85.09. The stock had a trading volume of 1,593,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,666,688. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $81.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.17. TransUnion has a 52 week low of $66.38 and a 52 week high of $113.17. The company has a market capitalization of $16.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.70.

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

TransUnion declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.115 per share. This is a boost from TransUnion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on TRU shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $117.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on TransUnion from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.