Zacks Investment Management Takes Position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Zacks Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,420 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $410,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in TransUnion by 72.1% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 649 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. PEAK6 LLC purchased a new stake in TransUnion in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,582,000. LTS One Management LP increased its stake in shares of TransUnion by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. LTS One Management LP now owns 200,000 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $18,542,000 after acquiring an additional 38,500 shares during the period. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new position in shares of TransUnion during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,259,000. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its holdings in TransUnion by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 2,086,050 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $193,398,000 after buying an additional 375,736 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TRU has been the topic of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on TransUnion in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $84.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $110.00.

TransUnion Price Performance

Shares of TransUnion stock traded down $0.40 during trading on Friday, hitting $82.07. 863,366 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,684,400. The stock has a market cap of $16.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.22, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. TransUnion has a 52 week low of $66.38 and a 52 week high of $113.17. The firm's fifty day moving average is $82.82 and its 200-day moving average is $93.23.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. Research analysts expect that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.115 per share. 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.51%.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the firm'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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $372,751. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.