Insider Selling: TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Director Sells $1,200,000.00 in Stock

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Director George M. Awad sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $1,200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,702,600. The trade was a 30.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

TransUnion Stock Performance

Shares of TRU stock opened at $101.00 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $103.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.68 billion, a PE ratio of 87.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.62. 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 52 week low of $56.85 and a 52 week high of $113.17.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. TransUnion had a return on equity of 15.38% and a net margin of 5.47%. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS. TransUnion’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on TRU. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of TransUnion from $122.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of TransUnion from $104.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of TransUnion from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on TransUnion from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.38.

Institutional Trading of TransUnion

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of TransUnion by 84.5% in the 3rd 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. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of TransUnion by 963.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 574 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in TransUnion by 22.3% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 910 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in TransUnion by 156.6% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 857 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the last quarter.

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.