Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Increases Holdings in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 167,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,690 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $15,537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of TRU. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 82.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 428 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in TransUnion by 4,590.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of TransUnion during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 733 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TRU has been the topic of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. 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. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.08.

Insider Transactions at TransUnion

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 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 $10,095,112.82. This trade represents a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total value of $93,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,488 shares in the company, valued at $5,568,076.80. The trade was a 1.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $383,041. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

TransUnion Trading Down 2.8 %

NYSE TRU opened at $82.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.70. TransUnion has a one year low of $66.07 and a one year high of $113.17. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.05 billion, a PE ratio of 56.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.14). The company 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

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 dividend of $0.115 per share. 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 0.56%. TransUnion’s payout ratio is 31.51%.

TransUnion announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.