TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Shares Gap Down to $69.63

Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $69.63, but opened at $67.88. TransUnion shares last traded at $67.99, with a volume of 235,926 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on TransUnion from $55.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of TransUnion from $76.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on TransUnion from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, TransUnion has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.47.

TransUnion Stock Down 1.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.91.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.08. TransUnion had a positive return on equity of 13.58% and a negative net margin of 7.50%. The company had revenue of $954.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $927.04 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.105 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -28.19%.

Insider Activity at TransUnion

In other TransUnion news, EVP Timothy J. Martin sold 12,000 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.59, for a total transaction of $943,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,284,883.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.30, for a total value of $144,307.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 75,099 shares in the company, valued at $6,105,548.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy J. Martin sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.59, for a total transaction of $943,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 54,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,284,883.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,275 shares of company stock worth $1,204,538 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TransUnion

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in TransUnion during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in TransUnion by 166.3% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 474 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in TransUnion in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in TransUnion by 36.9% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 843 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in shares of TransUnion during the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000.

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.