Homestead Advisers Corp Acquires 51,500 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Homestead Advisers Corp raised its stake in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 14.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 408,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 51,500 shares during the period. Homestead Advisers Corp owned 0.21% of TransUnion worth $37,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TRU. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of TransUnion by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,066,657 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,674,960,000 after purchasing an additional 241,019 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in 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 during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in TransUnion by 307.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,540,896 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $475,432,000 after buying an additional 3,427,199 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in TransUnion by 16.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,426,510 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $463,456,000 after purchasing an additional 635,581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 30.6% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 789,497 shares in the last quarter.

TransUnion Price Performance

TRU opened at $85.71 on Thursday. TransUnion has a 52-week low of $66.07 and a 52-week high of $113.17. The company has a market cap of $16.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $92.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.32.

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

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.115 per share. This is a boost from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion’s payout ratio is currently 31.51%.

TransUnion announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, TransUnion has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.08.

Insider Transactions at TransUnion

In other news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total value of $174,342.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 105,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. This represents a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of TransUnion 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 owns 58,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,611,923.60. This trade represents a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $383,041. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.