TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Given New $89.00 Price Target at Needham & Company LLC

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) had its target price boosted by Needham & Company LLC from $87.00 to $89.00 in a report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of TransUnion in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of TransUnion from $55.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of TransUnion from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of TransUnion from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, TransUnion currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $81.60.

TransUnion Price Performance

Shares of TRU opened at $74.29 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.43 billion, a PE ratio of -49.86, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.61. The company’s 50-day moving average is $76.38 and its 200-day moving average is $67.83. TransUnion has a fifty-two week low of $42.09 and a fifty-two week high of $82.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.47.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $954.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $927.04 million. TransUnion had a negative net margin of 7.50% and a positive return on equity of 13.58%. The company’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.31 EPS for the current year.

TransUnion Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.105 per share. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. TransUnion’s payout ratio is -28.19%.

Insider Transactions at TransUnion

In other news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,775 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.30, for a total transaction of $144,307.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 75,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,105,548.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.30, for a total value of $144,307.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 75,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,105,548.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard Dane Mauldin sold 1,500 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,033 shares in the company, valued at $1,720,777.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,275 shares of company stock worth $1,204,538 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TransUnion

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors bought a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the fourth quarter valued at about $663,001,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of TransUnion by 570.4% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,029,897 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $483,024,000 after buying an additional 5,981,271 shares during the period. Meritage Group LP increased its position in shares of TransUnion by 56.5% during the fourth quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 5,030,424 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $345,640,000 after buying an additional 1,815,540 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the fourth quarter valued at about $90,682,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of TransUnion by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,744,770 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $326,013,000 after buying an additional 1,035,634 shares during the period.

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.