Thomson Reuters Co. (NYSE:TRI) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Thomson Reuters Co. (NYSE:TRI - Free Report) TSE: TRI by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,808 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 10,935 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in Thomson Reuters were worth $8,810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in shares of Thomson Reuters by 115.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 963,315 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $164,292,000 after purchasing an additional 516,715 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its position in Thomson Reuters by 26.3% during the second quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 1,325,695 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $223,525,000 after buying an additional 276,206 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new stake in Thomson Reuters in the second quarter valued at approximately $45,514,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Thomson Reuters by 11.0% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,577,905 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $439,665,000 after acquiring an additional 255,387 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in shares of Thomson Reuters by 87.1% during the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 505,050 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $85,136,000 after acquiring an additional 235,145 shares during the last quarter. 17.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on TRI shares. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Thomson Reuters from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Thomson Reuters from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Thomson Reuters from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com cut Thomson Reuters from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Thomson Reuters in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $175.20.

Thomson Reuters Price Performance

NYSE:TRI traded down $0.58 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $162.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 177,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 347,844. The company has a market capitalization of $72.98 billion, a PE ratio of 31.93, a PEG ratio of 5.69 and a beta of 0.71. Thomson Reuters Co. has a 52-week low of $141.63 and a 52-week high of $176.03. The business's 50-day moving average is $165.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI - Get Free Report) TSE: TRI last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The business services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. Thomson Reuters had a net margin of 32.12% and a return on equity of 14.85%. The business had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. The business's revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Thomson Reuters Co. will post 3.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thomson Reuters Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. This is a boost from Thomson Reuters's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Thomson Reuters's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.52%.

Thomson Reuters 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.