Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 252,265 Shares of Thomson Reuters Co. (NYSE:TRI)

Bank of Nova Scotia lessened its holdings in shares of Thomson Reuters Co. (NYSE:TRI - Free Report) TSE: TRI by 33.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 495,324 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 252,265 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.11% of Thomson Reuters worth $79,523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Thomson Reuters in the fourth quarter valued at about $148,221,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Thomson Reuters by 74.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,315,080 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $214,236,000 after purchasing an additional 560,450 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Thomson Reuters by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,764,429 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $764,654,000 after buying an additional 516,605 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Thomson Reuters by 52.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,153,240 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $185,011,000 after buying an additional 395,481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Thomson Reuters by 60.7% in the fourth quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 462,241 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $74,698,000 after buying an additional 174,546 shares during the period. 17.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Thomson Reuters Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:TRI traded up $2.61 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $175.29. 124,317 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 473,972. The business's 50-day moving average price is $173.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.76. Thomson Reuters Co. has a 12 month low of $149.50 and a 12 month high of $180.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.85, a P/E/G ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.70.

Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI - Get Free Report) TSE: TRI last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The business services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.04. Thomson Reuters had a return on equity of 14.62% and a net margin of 30.45%. Analysts predict that Thomson Reuters Co. will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Thomson Reuters Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were given a $0.595 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $2.38 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. This is an increase from Thomson Reuters's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Thomson Reuters's payout ratio is 48.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Thomson Reuters from $168.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. CIBC raised their target price on Thomson Reuters from $165.00 to $174.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut Thomson Reuters from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Thomson Reuters in a report on Thursday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Thomson Reuters from $187.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Thomson Reuters currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $177.80.

Thomson Reuters Company Profile

Thomson Reuters Corporation engages in the provision of business information services in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in five segments: Legal Professionals, Corporates, Tax & Accounting Professionals, Reuters News, and Global Print. The Legal Professionals segment offers research and workflow products focusing on legal research and integrated legal workflow solutions that combine content, tools, and analytics to law firms and governments.