TransUnion Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:TRU)

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 7,896 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 564% compared to the average volume of 1,189 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In other TransUnion news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total value of $82,960.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,393 shares in the company, valued at $6,337,563.28. This represents a 1.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total transaction 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 $10,095,112.82. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $359,761 over the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of TransUnion

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 700,518 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $64,945,000 after buying an additional 22,826 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in TransUnion by 62.1% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,097 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $194,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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 valued at $29,253,000 after purchasing an additional 89,340 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 26,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,439,000 after purchasing an additional 4,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. raised its stake in shares of TransUnion by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. now owns 191,364 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $17,741,000 after purchasing an additional 46,612 shares during the last quarter.

TransUnion Stock Performance

Shares of TRU stock opened at $85.18 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $80.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.80. The stock has a market cap of $16.62 billion, a PE ratio of 58.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. TransUnion has a 12 month low of $66.38 and a 12 month high of $113.17.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.115 dividend. This is a boost from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on TRU shares. Bank of America began coverage on TransUnion in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $84.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $120.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on TransUnion from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, TransUnion currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.38.

TransUnion Company Profile

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.