Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 75,981 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA decreased its holdings in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,522,293 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 75,981 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.78% of TransUnion worth $141,132,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the 4th quarter worth $180,011,000. Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in TransUnion by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 15,707 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,456,000 after purchasing an additional 2,746 shares in the last quarter. Homestead Advisers Corp lifted its stake in TransUnion by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Homestead Advisers Corp now owns 408,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,909,000 after purchasing an additional 51,500 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 167,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,537,000 after purchasing an additional 6,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amica Mutual Insurance Co. increased its position in shares of TransUnion by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 12,901 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,196,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TRU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.08.

TransUnion Trading Down 2.8 %

TRU opened at $82.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.70. TransUnion has a one year low of $66.07 and a one year high of $113.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.35, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.13.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.14). TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. Analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.115 dividend. This is an increase from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.51%.

TransUnion announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase 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 buy up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total value of $95,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 58,488 shares in the company, valued at $5,611,923.60. This trade represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of TransUnion 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 105,443 shares in the company, valued at $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 4,021 shares of company stock worth $383,041 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.