Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 29.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,334,249 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 527,356 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 1.21% of TransUnion worth $160,386,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in TransUnion in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of TransUnion during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Westpac Banking Corp lifted its position in shares of TransUnion by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 908 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of TransUnion by 48.6% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,030 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of TransUnion by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter.

TransUnion Stock Performance

NYSE:TRU opened at $77.13 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.52. TransUnion has a 12-month low of $42.09 and a 12-month high of $82.75.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $977.62 million. TransUnion had a positive return on equity of 14.26% and a negative net margin of 7.02%. As a group, analysts expect that TransUnion will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current year.

TransUnion Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.105 per share. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio is presently -29.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on TRU. Truist Financial increased their target price on TransUnion from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on TransUnion from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on TransUnion from $69.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on TransUnion from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on TransUnion from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, TransUnion has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Richard Dane Mauldin sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.10, for a total value of $117,150.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,720,777.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Richard Dane Mauldin sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.10, for a total value of $117,150.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,720,777.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.30, for a total transaction of $144,307.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 75,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,105,548.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,275 shares of company stock valued at $1,204,538 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

TransUnion Profile

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.