TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Stifel Nicolaus

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) had its price objective cut by Stifel Nicolaus from $96.00 to $90.00 in a research report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on TRU. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on TransUnion from $106.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Mizuho dropped their price target on TransUnion from $77.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on TransUnion from $102.00 to $96.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on TransUnion from $85.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.69.

TransUnion Stock Performance

Shares of TRU opened at $76.74 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 2.03. TransUnion has a twelve month low of $60.96 and a twelve month high of $89.12. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $74.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.26. The firm has a market cap of $14.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.67, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.58.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.04. TransUnion had a net margin of 15.83% and a return on equity of 16.51%. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be given a $0.1350 dividend. This is an increase from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.1250. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In other news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 23,287 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $1,793,099.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 196,912 shares in the company, valued at $15,162,224. This represents a 10.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Mohamed Abdelsadek sold 397 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $29,775.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 52,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,921,300. The trade was a 0.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 41,377 shares of company stock valued at $3,200,570 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransUnion

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. grew its position in TransUnion by 9.2% during the third quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,536 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $806,000 after buying an additional 1,053 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in TransUnion in the 3rd quarter valued at $85,000. Peak Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in TransUnion in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,843,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in TransUnion by 42.6% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 887 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the 3rd quarter valued at $532,000.

About TransUnion

TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) is a global information and insights company that helps businesses and consumers make more informed decisions. The company collects, analyzes and delivers data related to credit, identity, fraud and consumer behavior, serving customers across financial services, insurance, healthcare, retail, telecommunications and other industries.

Its products and services include consumer credit reports and scores, credit-risk assessment, marketing and audience insights, identity verification, fraud detection, investigative tools and decisioning software.