Independent Franchise Partners LLP Acquires 16,386 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Independent Franchise Partners LLP grew its holdings in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 0.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,873,021 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 16,386 shares during the period. TransUnion accounts for about 4.5% of Independent Franchise Partners LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Independent Franchise Partners LLP owned approximately 3.56% of TransUnion worth $538,364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in TransUnion by 9.6% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 20,048 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,571,000 after buying an additional 1,759 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 99,433 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,789,000 after acquiring an additional 3,385 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in TransUnion by 297.9% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 85,834 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,707,000 after buying an additional 64,260 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in TransUnion during the second quarter worth about $2,279,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in TransUnion by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 617,826 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $48,394,000 after purchasing an additional 5,354 shares during the period.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Linda Zukauckas bought 2,350 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $43.62 per share, for a total transaction of $102,507.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $339,407.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Linda Zukauckas bought 2,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $43.62 per share, for a total transaction of $102,507.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 7,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $339,407.22. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 949 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.03, for a total transaction of $73,101.47. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 60,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,658,158.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,738 shares of company stock worth $287,766. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on TRU. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of TransUnion from $97.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $73.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of TransUnion from $93.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of TransUnion from $88.00 to $94.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on TransUnion in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.93.

TransUnion Price Performance

Shares of TRU traded up $1.56 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $59.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,181,542 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,729,533. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -45.55, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.44. TransUnion has a fifty-two week low of $42.09 and a fifty-two week high of $82.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $63.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.68.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $968.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $982.95 million. TransUnion had a positive return on equity of 13.49% and a negative net margin of 6.53%. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.105 per share. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 16th. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio is -32.81%.

TransUnion Company Profile

TransUnion operates as a global consumer credit reporting agency that provides risk and information solutions. The company operates in three segments: U.S. Markets, International, and Consumer Interactive. 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.