Laurus Investment Counsel Inc. Has $11.83 Million Stock Position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Laurus Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 172,125 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,840 shares during the period. TransUnion comprises 5.7% of Laurus Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Laurus Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $11,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TRU. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in TransUnion during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in TransUnion during the first quarter valued at approximately $49,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in TransUnion by 166.3% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 474 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. KB Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in TransUnion by 86.5% during the first quarter. KB Financial Partners LLC now owns 485 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 36.9% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 843 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at TransUnion

In other news, EVP Timothy J. Martin sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.59, for a total transaction of $943,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,284,883.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Timothy J. Martin sold 12,000 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.59, for a total transaction of $943,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 54,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,284,883.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard Dane Mauldin sold 1,500 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.10, for a total value of $117,150.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,720,777.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $76.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $81.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on TransUnion from $69.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.80.

TransUnion Stock Down 0.1 %

TransUnion stock opened at $78.60 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. TransUnion has a 12-month low of $42.09 and a 12-month high of $82.75.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $954.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $927.04 million. TransUnion had a positive return on equity of 13.58% and a negative net margin of 7.50%. The company’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.105 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. TransUnion’s payout ratio is currently -28.19%.

TransUnion Profile

TransUnion operates as a global consumer credit reporting agency that provides risk and information solutions. The company operates in three segments: U.S. Markets, International, and Consumer Interactive. 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.