TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Given New $117.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) had its target price trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $130.00 to $117.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on TRU. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of TransUnion from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, TransUnion has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.23.

TransUnion Stock Performance

Shares of TransUnion stock opened at $74.76 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The firm has a market cap of $14.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $86.28 and its 200-day moving average is $94.75. TransUnion has a one year low of $66.07 and a one year high of $113.17.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. Equities analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. This is a positive change from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio is 31.51%.

TransUnion declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction of $95,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,611,923.60. This trade represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total value of $174,342.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 105,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. This represents a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $372,751 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransUnion

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of TransUnion by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 700,518 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $64,945,000 after purchasing an additional 22,826 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,097 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $194,000 after buying an additional 803 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in TransUnion by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 26,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,439,000 after buying an additional 4,743 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in TransUnion by 39.5% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 315,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,253,000 after acquiring an additional 89,340 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in TransUnion by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,453 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $674,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares in the last quarter.

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.