Nicholas Company Inc. Sells 17,682 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Nicholas Company Inc. cut its stake in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 255,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 17,682 shares during the period. Nicholas Company Inc.’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $23,669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of TransUnion by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 10,211 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in shares of TransUnion by 84.5% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 286 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of TransUnion by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of TransUnion by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of TransUnion by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 3,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TRU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, TransUnion currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In other TransUnion news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total transaction of $93,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 59,488 shares in the company, valued at $5,568,076.80. This trade represents a 1.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $383,041 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

TransUnion Stock Up 2.5 %

TRU stock opened at $82.44 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company’s 50 day moving average is $92.91 and its 200 day moving average is $97.87. The stock has a market cap of $16.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. TransUnion has a 1-year low of $66.07 and a 1-year high of $113.17.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 6.80%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.115 per share. This is a boost 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 (DPR) is presently 31.51%.

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

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.