Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 330 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. reduced its holdings in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 55,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 330 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $5,130,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of TransUnion during the 4th quarter valued at $180,011,000. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in TransUnion by 21.2% in 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 raised its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Homestead Advisers Corp now owns 408,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $37,909,000 after purchasing an additional 51,500 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its position in shares of TransUnion by 4.2% during 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. grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 4.4% in 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 buying an additional 546 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the business’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 transaction of $95,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,611,923.60. This represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $383,041. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

TransUnion Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE TRU opened at $83.76 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market cap of $16.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. TransUnion has a 52 week low of $66.07 and a 52 week high of $113.17. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.92.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. Research analysts anticipate that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. This is a boost from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, TransUnion has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.08.

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.