Thomson Reuters Co. (NYSE:TRI - Get Free Report) TSE: TRI's share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $176.95 and last traded at $175.92, with a volume of 60653 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $169.23.
The business services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.04. Thomson Reuters had a net margin of 30.45% and a return on equity of 14.78%.
Thomson Reuters Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.595 per share. This is an increase from Thomson Reuters's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $2.38 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. Thomson Reuters's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.67%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of brokerages recently weighed in on TRI. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Thomson Reuters from $168.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Thomson Reuters from $187.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Thomson Reuters from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Thomson Reuters from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Thomson Reuters from $175.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Thomson Reuters presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $182.09.
View Our Latest Analysis on TRI
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Thomson Reuters
Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TRI. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Thomson Reuters by 115.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Thomson Reuters by 52.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in Thomson Reuters by 11.0% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its holdings in shares of Thomson Reuters by 909.9% during the 3rd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 209,993 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,815,000 after acquiring an additional 189,199 shares during the period. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Thomson Reuters by 60.7% in the 4th quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 462,241 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $74,698,000 after acquiring an additional 174,546 shares in the last quarter. 17.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Thomson Reuters Trading Up 1.3 %
The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $80.56 billion, a PE ratio of 36.61, a PEG ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $164.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $165.50.
Thomson Reuters Company Profile
(
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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.
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