TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Shares Purchased by Motley Fool Asset Management LLC

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 52,630 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,540 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $4,879,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 52.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,749,849 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $625,779,000 after acquiring an additional 2,323,339 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in TransUnion in the fourth quarter worth approximately $180,011,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 30.6% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,370,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $312,501,000 after buying an additional 789,497 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of TransUnion by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 19,540,131 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,811,566,000 after acquiring an additional 359,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,139,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $476,493,000 after acquiring an additional 356,306 shares in the last quarter.

TransUnion Stock Up 2.1 %

TRU stock opened at $85.66 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a 50-day moving average of $91.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $96.84. TransUnion has a 52-week low of $66.07 and a 52-week high of $113.17. 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 (NYSE:TRU) last announced its 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). The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.51%.

TransUnion announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on TRU shares. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Monday, March 24th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, TransUnion currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.08.

Insider Activity at TransUnion

In other news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 owns 58,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,611,923.60. This represents a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of TransUnion 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,021 shares of company stock worth $289,441 in the last ninety days. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by 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.