Franklin Resources Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 3.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,166,076 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 82,841 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 1.11% of TransUnion worth $231,554,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Huntington National Bank raised its stake 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 raised its position in shares of 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. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 4,590.0% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in TransUnion by 22.3% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 910 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in TransUnion by 156.6% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 857 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 523 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on TransUnion from $122.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on TransUnion from $119.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $121.00 target price on shares of TransUnion in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of TransUnion from $103.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.06.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Todd C. Skinner sold 3,090 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 24,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,469,312.84. The trade was a 11.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.66, for a total value of $158,490.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 62,988 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,655,312.08. This represents a 2.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,590 shares of company stock valued at $2,084,633. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

TransUnion Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:TRU opened at $98.43 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $102.39 and a 200 day moving average of $92.03. TransUnion has a 52-week low of $63.03 and a 52-week high of $113.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.18 billion, a PE ratio of 85.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.60.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 15.38% and a net margin of 5.47%. The company’s revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that TransUnion will post 3.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.105 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. TransUnion’s payout ratio is 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.