Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Purchases 2,840,800 Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 19,180,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,840,800 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.10% of TransUnion worth $2,008,205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Huntington National Bank increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its holdings in TransUnion by 963.0% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 574 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in TransUnion by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 788 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. 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 period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of TransUnion by 22.3% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter.

TransUnion Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE TRU opened at $96.74 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $18.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.12, a PEG ratio of 1.32 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. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $103.68 and its 200 day moving average is $89.41. TransUnion has a 52 week low of $56.85 and a 52 week high of $113.17.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. TransUnion had a net margin of 5.47% and a return on equity of 15.38%. TransUnion’s revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that TransUnion will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

TransUnion Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.105 dividend. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. TransUnion’s payout ratio is 36.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on TransUnion from $122.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on TransUnion from $104.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on TransUnion from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In other news, EVP Heather J. Russell sold 3,173 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.58, for a total transaction of $303,275.34. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,904,527.08. This trade represents a 13.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.65, for a total transaction of $95,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 64,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,168,277.20. This trade represents a 1.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,315 shares of company stock worth $1,119,897. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.