TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) EVP Venkat Achanta Sells 29,291 Shares of Company Stock

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) EVP Venkat Achanta sold 29,291 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.74, for a total transaction of $2,364,955.34. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 167,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,533,719.54. This represents a 14.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Venkat Achanta also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, September 10th, Venkat Achanta sold 23,287 shares of TransUnion stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $1,793,099.00.

TransUnion Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TRU opened at $82.05 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.03. TransUnion has a 1-year low of $60.96 and a 1-year high of $89.12. The company has a market capitalization of $15.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.56. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.14.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. TransUnion had a net margin of 15.83% and a return on equity of 16.51%. The company’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that TransUnion will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be issued a $0.1350 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.1250. TransUnion’s payout ratio is currently 13.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TRU has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered TransUnion from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Monday. Mizuho lowered their price objective on TransUnion from $77.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on TransUnion from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird set a $99.00 price objective on TransUnion in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on TransUnion from $85.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.72.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransUnion

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in TransUnion during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $442,000. Boston Partners bought a new stake in TransUnion in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $9,752,000. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 53.1% during the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 73,250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,477,000 after acquiring an additional 25,401 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $15,014,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 1,416.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 79,931 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,885,000 after acquiring an additional 74,660 shares in the last quarter.

About TransUnion

TransUnion is a global information and insights company that helps businesses assess risk, prevent fraud and make informed decisions. Its services include credit reporting and scoring, identity verification, fraud detection, and data and analytics solutions for industries such as financial services, retail, insurance and telecommunications. The company also provides consumers with access to credit information and tools to monitor and manage their financial identities. Its offerings include credit reports, credit monitoring and identity-protection services.