PGGM Investments Takes Position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

PGGM Investments acquired a new stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 3,651 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $338,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of TRU. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 307.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,540,896 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $475,432,000 after acquiring an additional 3,427,199 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 19,180,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,008,205,000 after acquiring an additional 2,840,800 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in shares of TransUnion in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $92,661,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,426,510 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $463,456,000 after acquiring an additional 635,581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 356,306 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group upped their price objective on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.64.

TransUnion Price Performance

TRU opened at $82.44 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. TransUnion has a 12 month low of $66.07 and a 12 month high of $113.17. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.96. The stock has a market cap of $16.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70.

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

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. This is a boost from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.51%.

TransUnion declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at TransUnion

In other TransUnion news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total value 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 trade represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,021 shares of company stock worth $383,041 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.