Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 211,934 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 1,428.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 226,771 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 211,934 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $23,743,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of TransUnion by 32.2% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 16,339,762 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,211,757,000 after purchasing an additional 3,977,595 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 51.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,755,729 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $539,108,000 after buying an additional 2,306,596 shares in the last quarter. CCLA Investment Management boosted its position in shares of TransUnion by 104,813.6% in the first quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 1,947,196 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $153,454,000 after acquiring an additional 1,945,340 shares during the period. XN LP grew its stake in TransUnion by 194.7% during the second quarter. XN LP now owns 1,973,684 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $146,368,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its stake in TransUnion by 37.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,566,928 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $190,363,000 after purchasing an additional 698,580 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity at TransUnion

In other TransUnion news, EVP Heather J. Russell sold 3,173 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.58, for a total value of $303,275.34. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,926 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,904,527.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.66, for a total transaction of $158,490.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 62,988 shares in the company, valued at $6,655,312.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Heather J. Russell sold 3,173 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.58, for a total transaction of $303,275.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,904,527.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,315 shares of company stock worth $1,119,897 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on TransUnion from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of TransUnion from $103.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of TransUnion from $104.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of TransUnion in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, TransUnion presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.53.

TransUnion Stock Performance

Shares of TRU stock opened at $102.97 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.54, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.62. TransUnion has a fifty-two week low of $54.13 and a fifty-two week high of $113.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $103.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.64.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. TransUnion had a net margin of 5.47% and a return on equity of 15.38%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. Analysts expect that TransUnion will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

TransUnion Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.105 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. TransUnion’s payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

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.