Meritage Group LP Cuts Stock Position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Meritage Group LP lessened its stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,278,373 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 913,601 shares during the quarter. TransUnion makes up 10.5% of Meritage Group LP’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Meritage Group LP’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $447,946,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of TransUnion by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 10,211 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,069,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in TransUnion by 15.0% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 788 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its position in TransUnion by 0.7% in the second quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 17,822 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,322,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in shares of TransUnion by 84.5% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 286 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in TransUnion by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 4,260 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $446,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In other TransUnion news, insider Todd C. Skinner sold 3,090 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.48, for a total value of $313,573.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 24,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,469,312.84. This trade represents a 11.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Timothy J. Martin sold 2,500 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.59, for a total value of $261,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 46,739 shares in the company, valued at $4,888,432.01. This trade represents a 5.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,590 shares of company stock worth $2,084,633 in the last three months. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on TRU. Wolfe Research upgraded TransUnion from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays lifted their price target on TransUnion from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on TransUnion from $97.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group began coverage on shares of TransUnion in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.38.

TransUnion Stock Performance

NYSE:TRU opened at $99.67 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.43 billion, a PE ratio of 86.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. TransUnion has a 12-month low of $61.46 and a 12-month high of $113.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $103.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.34.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. TransUnion had a net margin of 5.47% and a return on equity of 15.38%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that TransUnion will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.105 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

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.