Point72 Asset Management L.P. Makes New Investment in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 801,236 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $74,283,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. owned about 0.41% of TransUnion at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of TRU. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in TransUnion by 52.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,749,849 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $625,779,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323,339 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in TransUnion in the fourth quarter worth $180,011,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in TransUnion by 30.6% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,370,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $312,501,000 after purchasing an additional 789,497 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in TransUnion by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,044,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $467,709,000 after purchasing an additional 503,969 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its position in shares of TransUnion by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 2,086,050 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $193,398,000 after buying an additional 375,736 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on TRU shares. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America started coverage on TransUnion in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $84.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on TransUnion from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.38.

TransUnion Stock Performance

NYSE:TRU opened at $91.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.70. TransUnion has a 52-week low of $66.38 and a 52-week high of $113.17. The firm has a market cap of $17.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.46, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. The business’s fifty day moving average is $81.23 and its 200 day moving average is $91.13.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. TransUnion had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 6.80%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. Research analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

TransUnion Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.47%.

TransUnion announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other TransUnion news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was 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 represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total value of $82,960.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 76,393 shares in the company, valued at $6,337,563.28. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $359,761 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.