CIBC Asset Management Inc Grows Position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 13.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,815 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 956 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in TransUnion by 84.5% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 286 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in TransUnion by 82.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 428 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in TransUnion in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in TransUnion by 4,590.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in TransUnion by 62.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 805 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on TRU shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group increased their price objective on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.64.

TransUnion Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TRU opened at $91.75 on Friday. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $94.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.25. TransUnion has a 1-year low of $66.07 and a 1-year high of $113.17. The company has a market cap of $17.90 billion, a PE ratio of 62.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.63.

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

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. This is an increase from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.77%.

TransUnion declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In other news, insider Todd C. Skinner sold 3,090 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.48, for a total transaction of $313,573.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 24,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,469,312.84. The trade was a 11.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total value of $95,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,611,923.60. This trade represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 18,590 shares of company stock valued at $1,854,218. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company 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.