Thomson Reuters Co. (NYSE:TRI) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Thomson Reuters Co. (NYSE:TRI) (TSE:TRI) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 435,092 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 32,110 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned 0.10% of Thomson Reuters worth $63,822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. raised its position in shares of Thomson Reuters by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 168,321 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $24,655,000 after purchasing an additional 27,517 shares during the last quarter. Clarius Group LLC raised its position in shares of Thomson Reuters by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 3,626 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of Thomson Reuters during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Thomson Reuters during the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,461,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Thomson Reuters by 103.0% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 11,195 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,637,000 after purchasing an additional 5,681 shares during the last quarter. 17.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Thomson Reuters Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of Thomson Reuters stock opened at $150.84 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $156.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Thomson Reuters Co. has a twelve month low of $117.46 and a twelve month high of $161.57. The stock has a market cap of $68.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 0.65.

Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI) (TSE:TRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The business services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.06. Thomson Reuters had a net margin of 39.67% and a return on equity of 14.01%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Thomson Reuters Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thomson Reuters Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. This is a boost from Thomson Reuters’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. Thomson Reuters’s dividend payout ratio is 36.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on TRI. CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Thomson Reuters from $146.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Thomson Reuters from $142.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. National Bank Financial cut shares of Thomson Reuters from a “sector perform under weight” rating to an “underperform underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays raised shares of Thomson Reuters from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $153.00 target price on shares of Thomson Reuters in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $157.42.

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.