TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) is back in the spotlight today as a string of fresh 13F filings reveals diverging strategies among some of its biggest institutional shareholders.
On the one hand, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp has modestly reduced its exposure to the credit‑reporting company. On the other, heavyweight asset manager Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA (MFS) and European fund house Candriam S.C.A. have added aggressively to their positions – even as insiders continue to sell small blocks of stock and the company prepares to speak at a key J.P. Morgan investor conference today. [1]
As of this morning, TransUnion shares were trading around $79.21, down roughly 2% on the day and well below Wall Street’s average 12‑month price target, leaving investors to decide whether the latest institutional moves signal caution – or opportunity. [2]
Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Scales Back Its TRU Position
According to a new SEC filing, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp trimmed its TransUnion stake by about 3.4% in the second quarter. The bank sold 3,333 shares, leaving it with 93,526 shares valued at roughly $8.23 million at the time of the filing. [3]
While the reduction is relatively small in percentage terms, it indicates some recalibration of exposure at a time when the broader market has been volatile and rate‑sensitive financial names have been under scrutiny. Mitsubishi UFJ joins a cohort of institutions that have been fine‑tuning their positions in TRU rather than exiting outright.
The same filing highlights that several other asset managers – including Mutual of America Capital Management, Signaturefd LLC and KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS – have either modestly increased or initiated positions in TransUnion over recent quarters, underscoring ongoing institutional interest in the name despite short‑term market swings. [4]
Massachusetts Financial Services Deepens Its Commitment
If Mitsubishi UFJ’s move looks cautious, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA is sending the opposite message.
Fresh 13F data show that MFS boosted its TransUnion stake by 4.8% during Q2, purchasing an additional 1,046,391 shares. The Boston‑based manager now owns 22,720,864 shares, representing about 11.66% of TransUnion’s outstanding stock and a position valued near $2.0 billion at the time of the filing. [5]
That makes MFS one of TransUnion’s single largest shareholders. MarketBeat’s institutional‑flow data also show MFS among the biggest net buyers of TRU stock over the past 24 months, alongside firms such as Capital International Investors, Wellington Management and Norges Bank. [6]
For long‑term investors, a large, fundamentally focused manager adding to an already substantial position can be an important confidence signal – suggesting that, in MFS’s view, the recent share‑price weakness does not fully reflect TransUnion’s earnings power or growth runway.
Candriam S.C.A. Ramps Up Its Exposure
European asset manager Candriam S.C.A. has also been quietly increasing its bet on TransUnion.
In its latest filing, Candriam reported a 45.6% increase in its TRU holdings during Q2. The fund now owns 20,969 shares, up by 6,567 shares from the prior period, for a stake worth about $1.85 million at the time of reporting. [7]
By absolute size, this position is much smaller than MFS’s, but the strong percentage increase shows growing conviction. Other institutions – including Penserra Capital Management and Park Avenue Securities – have similarly nudged their positions higher, reflecting a broader pattern of incremental buying across the shareholder base. [8]
A Heavily Institution‑Owned Stock
TransUnion remains very much an institutional story.
Multiple ownership databases estimate that well over 90% of TRU’s shares are in institutional hands. MarketScreener data, for example, put institutional ownership at around 97%, while other services show a similar dominance by asset managers, pension funds and hedge funds. [9]
That level of institutional ownership tends to have two key implications:
- Share price moves can be driven by fund‑flow dynamics. Large 13F shifts – such as MFS’s million‑share purchase – can matter more than smaller retail flows.
- Governance and strategy are influenced by professional investors. Stewardship teams at major funds often engage management on capital allocation, acquisitions and ESG issues.
In short, watching what “big money” is doing in TRU isn’t just interesting – it’s essential to understanding the stock.
Insider Selling: Small Volumes, But Worth Watching
While institutions have been net buyers on balance, company insiders have been modest net sellers in recent months.
- Jennifer A. Williams, TransUnion’s Chief Accounting Officer, sold 755 shares on 29 August at an average price of about $88.46, a transaction worth roughly $66,787. After the sale, she directly held 5,691 shares, a double‑digit percentage reduction in her stake. [10]
- Heather J. Russell, Executive Vice President, disposed of 5,337 shares on 5 September at an average price close to $90.01, for proceeds of around $480,000, and now owns roughly 23,011 shares. [11]
In total, insiders have sold about 9,337 shares valued at roughly $818,810 over the past 90 days, and corporate insiders collectively hold only about 0.25% of the company. [12]
Such moves are not automatically bearish – executives often sell for diversification, tax or personal‑liquidity reasons – but they do contrast with the sizeable institutional accumulation from firms like MFS and Candriam.
Q3 2025: Earnings Beat, Solid Guidance and a Small Dividend
Underpinning this tug‑of‑war in the shareholder register is a business that continues to grow.
At its Q3 2025 earnings release in late October, TransUnion reported:
- Revenue of $1.17 billion, up about 7.8% year‑over‑year, and ahead of analyst estimates.
- Adjusted EPS of $1.10, beating consensus forecasts of $1.04.
- Strong performance across its U.S. Markets, International and Consumer Interactive segments, helped by ongoing demand for credit data, fraud‑prevention tools and analytics.
Management also issued Q4 2025 EPS guidance of $0.97–$1.02 and full‑year 2025 EPS guidance of $4.19–$4.25, implying healthy profit growth despite macro uncertainty.
On the capital‑return side, the board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.115 per share, payable in early December to shareholders of record on 21 November, equivalent to an annualized yield of about 0.6% at current prices and a payout ratio in the low‑20% range.
With a current share price near $79, TRU trades on a forward price‑to‑earnings multiple in the high‑teens to low‑20s (depending on the earnings measure used) and a PEG ratio around 1.8, according to recent MarketBeat data.
Analyst Sentiment: “Moderate Buy” With Upside
Wall Street remains cautiously optimistic.
Consensus data compiled by MarketBeat show nine Buy ratings, five Hold ratings and one Sell rating on TransUnion, for an overall “Moderate Buy” stance. The average 12‑month price target sits near $104, implying upside of roughly 30%+ from today’s levels.
Recent research notes include:
- Robert W. Baird setting a price objective of $125.
- JPMorgan Chase & Co. trimming its target to $107 while maintaining an overweight stance.
- Needham & Company reiterating a $115 target and a Buy rating.
- Oppenheimer initiating coverage with an “outperform” rating and a $93 target.
The key questions for analysts revolve around:
- How resilient consumer and small‑business credit demand will be if economic growth slows.
- The pace of adoption for TransUnion’s newer fraud‑detection, identity‑verification and analytics offerings.
- Competitive dynamics with Experian and Equifax in both U.S. and international markets.
Today’s Catalyst: J.P. Morgan Ultimate Services Investor Conference
Adding to today’s news flow, TransUnion’s President and CEO Chris Cartwright is scheduled to present at the J.P. Morgan Ultimate Services Investor Conference in New York on 18 November 2025. The presentation is slated to begin at 8:40 a.m. CT (9:40 a.m. ET), with a live webcast and replay available via the company’s investor‑relations website.
Investors will be listening closely for:
- Updates on demand trends in credit, marketing and fraud solutions.
- Commentary on loan growth, delinquencies and consumer‑credit health.
- Any hints about capital allocation, acquisitions or longer‑term margin targets.
Conference appearances like this often don’t produce major surprises, but they can refine the market’s view of management’s confidence level – and occasionally act as a catalyst when combined with new data points like the institutional‑ownership shifts seen this week.
What the Mixed Signals Mean for Investors
Putting it all together:
- Big money is still leaning in. MFS and Candriam have both added to their stakes, and data across multiple sources show that institutions collectively control the overwhelming majority of TransUnion’s shares.
- Some large holders are trimming at the margin. Mitsubishi UFJ’s reduction looks more like portfolio fine‑tuning than an outright bearish call, but it’s a reminder that not all big investors see the stock the same way.
- Insiders are net sellers, though in small size. Executive‑level selling has been modest but persistent – something many investors will monitor alongside future grant and purchase activity.
- Fundamentals remain solid. Q3 beat expectations, guidance was reaffirmed, and the dividend – while small – reflects confidence in steady cash generation.
For prospective and current shareholders, the next few weeks could be pivotal. The combination of:
- today’s J.P. Morgan conference appearance,
- approaching ex‑dividend date, and
- continued drip of 13F filings from other large funds
will give the market more clues about how professional money managers are positioning around TransUnion going into 2026.
As always, anyone considering TRU should weigh these institutional and insider signals against their own risk tolerance, time horizon and view on the broader credit cycle – but today’s filings make one thing clear: TransUnion remains a stock that the big players are actively debating, not ignoring.
References
1. www.marketbeat.com, 2. www.marketbeat.com, 3. www.marketbeat.com, 4. www.marketbeat.com, 5. www.marketbeat.com, 6. www.marketbeat.com, 7. www.marketbeat.com, 8. www.marketbeat.com, 9. www.marketscreener.com, 10. www.marketbeat.com, 11. www.marketbeat.com, 12. www.marketbeat.com
