Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI - Free Report) TSE: TRI from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Thomson Reuters from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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. Bank of America started coverage on Thomson Reuters in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Thomson Reuters from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, CIBC boosted their price target on Thomson Reuters from $165.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Thomson Reuters presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $177.80.

Thomson Reuters Stock Performance

NYSE TRI traded up $0.98 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $183.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 18,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 511,621. Thomson Reuters has a 12 month low of $149.80 and a 12 month high of $184.11. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $173.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.32. The company has a market cap of $82.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI - Get Free Report) TSE: TRI last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Thomson Reuters will post 3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thomson Reuters Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.595 per share. This represents a $2.38 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. This is a boost from Thomson Reuters's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. Thomson Reuters's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Thomson Reuters

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Thomson Reuters by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 8,857 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,530,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Thomson Reuters by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 11,277 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,948,000 after purchasing an additional 776 shares in the last quarter. First American Bank boosted its position in shares of Thomson Reuters by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. First American Bank now owns 24,132 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,170,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Clarius Group LLC raised its stake in Thomson Reuters by 14.9% in the 1st quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 2,238 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $387,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Thomson Reuters in the 1st quarter worth $6,008,000. 17.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Thomson Reuters

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.