TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Price Target Raised to $96.00

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) had its target price raised by Oppenheimer from $93.00 to $96.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

TRU has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Monday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.38.

TransUnion Stock Performance

NYSE TRU opened at $82.13 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $82.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.70. TransUnion has a 1 year low of $66.38 and a 1 year high of $113.17. The company has a market capitalization of $16.03 billion, a PE ratio of 56.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. As a group, analysts expect that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This is a positive change from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. TransUnion’s payout ratio is 24.47%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other TransUnion news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction of $95,950.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 58,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,611,923.60. The trade was a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the firm’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 in the company, valued at $10,095,112.82. This trade represents a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $372,751. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of TransUnion

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TRU. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 105.3% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 423 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in TransUnion by 82.1% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 428 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in TransUnion during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 58.7% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 454 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in TransUnion during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000.

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.