Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd Buys 10,772 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 16.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 76,844 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,772 shares during the period. TransUnion comprises about 3.3% of Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $7,127,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 19,540,131 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,811,566,000 after acquiring an additional 359,569 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of TransUnion by 1.4% in the fourth 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 period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of TransUnion by 52.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,749,849 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $625,779,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323,339 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of TransUnion by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,139,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $476,493,000 after purchasing an additional 356,306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of TransUnion by 30.6% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,370,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $312,501,000 after purchasing an additional 789,497 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TRU has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group increased their target price on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lowered their price target on TransUnion from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In related news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction of $95,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,611,923.60. This represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 105,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $372,751 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

TransUnion Price Performance

TRU stock opened at $71.10 on Friday. TransUnion has a 52 week low of $66.07 and a 52 week high of $113.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.48. 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 (NYSE:TRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. 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 presently 31.51%.

TransUnion announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

TransUnion 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.