Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Raises Stock Holdings in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 32.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,339,762 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,977,595 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 8.41% of TransUnion worth $1,211,757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors bought a new position in TransUnion during the fourth quarter valued at $663,001,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in TransUnion by 51.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,755,729 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $539,108,000 after acquiring an additional 2,306,596 shares in the last quarter. CCLA Investment Management increased its stake in TransUnion by 104,813.6% during the first quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 1,947,196 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $153,454,000 after acquiring an additional 1,945,340 shares during the last quarter. Meritage Group LP raised its position in TransUnion by 56.5% during the fourth quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 5,030,424 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $345,640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,815,540 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of TransUnion in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $90,682,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TRU has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on TransUnion from $87.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of TransUnion from $96.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of TransUnion in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Barclays upped their price target on shares of TransUnion from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $85.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.00.

Insider Transactions at TransUnion

In other news, EVP Heather J. Russell sold 7,120 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.53, for a total value of $523,533.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,884,132.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Todd M. Cello sold 12,865 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $1,029,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 101,426 shares in the company, valued at $8,114,080. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Heather J. Russell sold 7,120 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.53, for a total transaction of $523,533.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,884,132.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 32,200 shares of company stock valued at $2,665,257. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

TransUnion Price Performance

Shares of TRU stock opened at $100.39 on Monday. TransUnion has a twelve month low of $42.09 and a twelve month high of $100.97. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -70.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The business services provider reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.13. TransUnion had a positive return on equity of 15.03% and a negative net margin of 6.11%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a $0.105 dividend. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio is currently -29.37%.

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.