Morgan Stanley Raises TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Price Target to $103.00

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) had its target price boosted by Morgan Stanley from $96.00 to $103.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised TransUnion to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on TransUnion from $85.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on TransUnion from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Needham & Company LLC downgraded TransUnion from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on TransUnion in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a peer perform rating for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $92.00.

TransUnion Price Performance

TRU opened at $100.39 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $88.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.51 billion, a PE ratio of -70.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.62. TransUnion has a 52 week low of $42.09 and a 52 week high of $100.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The business services provider reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.13. TransUnion had a negative net margin of 6.11% and a positive return on equity of 15.03%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that TransUnion will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current year.

TransUnion Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -29.37%.

Insider Transactions at TransUnion

In related news, EVP Timothy J. Martin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.65, for a total transaction of $239,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 49,239 shares in the company, valued at $4,709,710.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other TransUnion news, CAO Jennifer A. Williams sold 405 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.58, for a total transaction of $38,709.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,837.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Timothy J. Martin sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.65, for a total value of $239,125.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 49,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,709,710.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,200 shares of company stock worth $2,665,257 over the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransUnion

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors purchased a new position in shares of TransUnion in the 4th quarter worth approximately $663,001,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 32.2% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 16,339,762 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,211,757,000 after acquiring an additional 3,977,595 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 51.8% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. CCLA Investment Management lifted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 104,813.6% during the 1st 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. Finally, Meritage Group LP lifted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 56.5% during the 4th quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 5,030,424 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $345,640,000 after acquiring an additional 1,815,540 shares during the last quarter.

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.