Blue Trust Inc. Sells 345 Shares of Thomson Reuters Co. (NYSE:TRI)

Blue Trust Inc. decreased its position in Thomson Reuters Co. (NYSE:TRI) (TSE:TRI) by 52.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 316 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 345 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Thomson Reuters were worth $51,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Thomson Reuters in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Thomson Reuters in the third quarter valued at about $47,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Thomson Reuters by 67.6% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 496 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Thomson Reuters in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $155,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Thomson Reuters in the fourth quarter worth approximately $186,000. 17.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on TRI shares. CIBC raised their target price on Thomson Reuters from $165.00 to $174.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Thomson Reuters from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Thomson Reuters from $187.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Thomson Reuters from $168.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $182.09.

Thomson Reuters Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:TRI opened at $179.32 on Wednesday. Thomson Reuters Co. has a 52 week low of $149.50 and a 52 week high of $180.02. The company’s 50 day moving average is $166.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.89. The company has a market cap of $80.70 billion, a PE ratio of 36.67, a P/E/G ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

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

Thomson Reuters Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.595 per share. This represents a $2.38 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. This is a positive change from Thomson Reuters’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Thomson Reuters’s payout ratio is 48.67%.

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.