Bryce Point Capital LLC Takes Position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Bryce Point Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 4,960 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $460,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TRU. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of TransUnion by 52.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,749,849 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $625,779,000 after buying an additional 2,323,339 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in TransUnion during the fourth quarter worth about $180,011,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in TransUnion by 30.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 789,497 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in TransUnion by 1.9% in the fourth 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 period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in TransUnion by 7.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 356,306 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at TransUnion

In other news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total transaction of $174,342.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 105,443 shares in the company, valued at $10,095,112.82. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.31, for a total transaction of $83,310.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 77,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,447,610.83. The trade was a 1.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,021 shares of company stock worth $372,751 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

TransUnion Stock Down 5.7 %

NYSE TRU opened at $71.10 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $90.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.70. The company has a market cap of $13.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. TransUnion has a one year low of $66.07 and a one year high of $113.17.

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

TransUnion declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 purchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. This is a positive change 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on TRU shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, TransUnion presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.54.

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.