M&T Bank Corp Lowers Stock Position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

M&T Bank Corp lessened its holdings in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,337 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,194 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $2,720,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in TransUnion by 84.5% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 286 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of TransUnion by 82.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 428 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of TransUnion by 4,590.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000.

TransUnion Stock Down 1.1 %

TRU stock opened at $86.37 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.15, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.70. TransUnion has a one year low of $66.07 and a one year high of $113.17. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $93.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.33.

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

TransUnion announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a $0.115 dividend. This is a boost from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion’s payout ratio is presently 31.51%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 105,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,095,112.82. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 58,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,611,923.60. This represents a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $383,041 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TRU has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.64.

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.