Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. Takes $1.60 Million Position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 17,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,599,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of TransUnion by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,261,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in TransUnion by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of TransUnion by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 3,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of TransUnion by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,642 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of TransUnion by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 733 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on TRU shares. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of TransUnion from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.54.

Insider Transactions at TransUnion

In other TransUnion news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 $10,095,112.82. This trade represents a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 58,488 shares in the company, 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 $372,751 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

TransUnion Stock Performance

TRU stock opened at $71.10 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. The firm has a market cap of $13.87 billion, a PE ratio of 48.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. The business has a 50 day moving average of $90.11 and a 200-day moving average of $96.48. TransUnion has a 12-month low of $66.07 and a 12-month high of $113.17.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.115 per share. This is an increase from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.51%.

TransUnion announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.