TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Stock: Insider Heather Russell Sells 10,000 Shares

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) EVP Heather Russell sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.71, for a total transaction of $797,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,423,104.29. This represents a 24.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

TransUnion Stock Performance

TRU opened at $81.93 on Thursday. TransUnion has a twelve month low of $60.96 and a twelve month high of $89.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.62 billion, a PE ratio of 19.76, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $73.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.13.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. TransUnion’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that TransUnion will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be issued a $0.1350 dividend. This is a boost from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.1250. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. TransUnion’s payout ratio is 13.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on TransUnion from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on TransUnion from $85.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays cut their target price on TransUnion from $85.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on TransUnion from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on TransUnion from $102.00 to $96.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.72.

Institutional Trading of TransUnion

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TRU. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $442,000. Boston Partners purchased a new position in TransUnion in the third quarter worth approximately $9,752,000. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its position in TransUnion by 53.1% in the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 73,250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,477,000 after acquiring an additional 25,401 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board acquired a new stake in TransUnion during the third quarter worth $15,014,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in TransUnion by 1,416.4% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 79,931 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,885,000 after acquiring an additional 74,660 shares during the last quarter.

About TransUnion

TransUnion is a global information and insights company that helps businesses assess risk, prevent fraud and make informed decisions. Its services include credit reporting and scoring, identity verification, fraud detection, and data and analytics solutions for industries such as financial services, retail, insurance and telecommunications. The company also provides consumers with access to credit information and tools to monitor and manage their financial identities. Its offerings include credit reports, credit monitoring and identity-protection services.