Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 137,769 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,603 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $12,712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of TransUnion by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,066,657 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,674,960,000 after purchasing an additional 241,019 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake 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 buying an additional 356,306 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in TransUnion by 16.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,426,510 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $463,456,000 after acquiring an additional 635,581 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 789,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 2.4% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,154,262 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $330,251,000 after acquiring an additional 75,410 shares during the period.

TransUnion Price Performance

TransUnion stock opened at $83.05 on Tuesday. TransUnion has a 12-month low of $66.07 and a 12-month high of $113.17. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $91.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.20 billion, a PE ratio of 56.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. TransUnion had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 6.80%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

TransUnion announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This is an increase from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio is 31.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction of $95,950.00. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total value of $174,342.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 105,443 shares of the company’s stock, 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 a total of 4,021 shares of company stock worth $383,041 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on TRU. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.08.

TransUnion 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.