Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 29.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,334,249 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 527,356 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $160,386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 8,215 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $564,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 2,311 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $159,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. KLR Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. KLR Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,537 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $433,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,179 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In other TransUnion news, EVP Timothy J. Martin sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.59, for a total value of $943,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,284,883.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other TransUnion news, EVP Timothy J. Martin sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.59, for a total value of $943,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 54,522 shares in the company, valued at $4,284,883.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard Dane Mauldin sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.10, for a total transaction of $117,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,720,777.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,275 shares of company stock valued at $1,204,538. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

TransUnion Price Performance

NYSE TRU opened at $77.13 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. TransUnion has a 12-month low of $42.09 and a 12-month high of $82.75.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.12. TransUnion had a negative net margin of 7.02% and a positive return on equity of 14.26%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $977.62 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that TransUnion will post 3.31 EPS for the current year.

TransUnion Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $0.105 dividend. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. TransUnion’s payout ratio is -29.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TRU has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on TransUnion from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Bank of America upgraded TransUnion from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $65.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Oppenheimer increased their target price on TransUnion from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on TransUnion from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on TransUnion from $55.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.60.

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.