Morgan Stanley Boosts TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Price Target to $130.00

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) had its target price upped by Morgan Stanley from $119.00 to $130.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on TransUnion in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of TransUnion from $97.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Wolfe Research upgraded TransUnion from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on TransUnion from $103.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.06.

TransUnion Stock Performance

TRU stock opened at $98.43 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $19.18 billion, a PE ratio of 85.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.60. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $102.39 and a 200-day moving average of $92.03. TransUnion has a 12-month low of $63.03 and a 12-month high of $113.17.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. TransUnion had a net margin of 5.47% and a return on equity of 15.38%. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.80 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that TransUnion will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current year.

TransUnion Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were 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 was Friday, November 22nd. TransUnion’s payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In other TransUnion news, Director George M. Awad sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $1,200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,702,600. This trade represents a 30.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Timothy J. Martin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.59, for a total value of $261,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 46,739 shares in the company, valued at $4,888,432.01. The trade was a 5.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,590 shares of company stock valued at $2,084,633. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TRU. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of TransUnion by 32.2% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 16,339,762 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,211,757,000 after buying an additional 3,977,595 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 307.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,540,896 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $475,432,000 after purchasing an additional 3,427,199 shares during the last quarter. XN LP boosted its holdings in TransUnion by 194.7% in the second quarter. XN LP now owns 1,973,684 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $146,368,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303,996 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in TransUnion in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $92,661,000. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 37.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,566,928 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $190,363,000 after buying an additional 698,580 shares during the period.

TransUnion Company 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.