Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 869 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 15.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,484 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 869 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 105.3% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 423 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in TransUnion during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in TransUnion by 58.7% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 454 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 194.1% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 553 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of TransUnion in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $124.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on TransUnion from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on TransUnion from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $84.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, TransUnion has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.46.

TransUnion Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TRU opened at $91.02 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a quick ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $90.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.93. TransUnion has a twelve month low of $66.38 and a twelve month high of $113.17.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.09. TransUnion had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 16.08%. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. TransUnion’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd were given a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. TransUnion’s payout ratio is 23.00%.

Insider Transactions at TransUnion

In other TransUnion news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.14, for a total transaction of $87,140.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 74,393 shares in the company, valued at $6,482,606.02. This trade represents a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.