TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Shares Bought by Laurus Investment Counsel Inc.

Laurus Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 172,125 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,840 shares during the period. TransUnion accounts for about 5.7% of Laurus Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Laurus Investment Counsel Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of TransUnion worth $11,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in TRU. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its stake in shares of TransUnion by 2.0% during the second quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 7,595 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $595,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of TransUnion by 2.9% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,730 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of TransUnion by 1.6% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 13,272 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,372,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of TransUnion by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Finally, Echo Street Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of TransUnion by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Echo Street Capital Management LLC now owns 37,816 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,146,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In other TransUnion news, EVP Timothy J. Martin sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.59, for a total value of $943,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 54,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,284,883.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Richard Dane Mauldin sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.10, for a total value of $117,150.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,720,777.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy J. Martin sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.59, for a total value of $943,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,522 shares in the company, valued at $4,284,883.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

TransUnion Stock Performance

Shares of TRU stock opened at $78.60 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.88. TransUnion has a twelve month low of $42.09 and a twelve month high of $82.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 1.47.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.08. TransUnion had a positive return on equity of 13.58% and a negative net margin of 7.50%. The firm had revenue of $954.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $927.04 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a $0.105 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -28.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on TRU. StockNews.com raised TransUnion from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on TransUnion from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays lifted their price objective on TransUnion from $55.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on TransUnion from $69.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on TransUnion from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.80.

TransUnion 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.