Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 282,858 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its position in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,883,218 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 282,858 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $174,593,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in TransUnion by 1.4% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 52.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,323,339 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of TransUnion by 7.4% during 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 during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $312,501,000 after buying an additional 789,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $330,251,000 after buying an additional 75,410 shares during the period.

TransUnion Price Performance

NYSE TRU opened at $83.76 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $16.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.37, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.92. TransUnion has a 52-week low of $66.07 and a 52-week high of $113.17.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last issued 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 company had revenue of $1.04 billion for 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%. Analysts anticipate that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. This is a positive change from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion’s payout ratio is 31.51%.

TransUnion declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on TRU. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group upped their price objective on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.08.

Insider Transactions at TransUnion

In related news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 105,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. This represents a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction of $95,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 58,488 shares in the company, valued at $5,611,923.60. The trade was a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $383,041 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.