Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Thomson Reuters Co. (NYSE:TRI) (TSE:TRI) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $179.45 and last traded at $178.63, with a volume of 452328 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $178.93.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TRI has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Thomson Reuters from $168.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. CIBC upped their price target on shares of Thomson Reuters from $165.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Thomson Reuters from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price 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, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Thomson Reuters from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $182.09.

Thomson Reuters Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $164.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $165.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $80.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.53, a P/E/G ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.73.

Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI) (TSE:TRI) last announced its 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 14.78% and a net margin of 30.45%. On average, research analysts predict that Thomson Reuters Co. will post 3.96 EPS for the current year.

Thomson Reuters Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.595 dividend. This represents a $2.38 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This is an increase from Thomson Reuters’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Thomson Reuters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Thomson Reuters

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TRI. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Thomson Reuters by 115.7% in 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 period. TD Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Thomson Reuters by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,764,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $764,654,000 after buying an additional 516,605 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Thomson Reuters by 52.2% during 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 during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Thomson Reuters by 11.0% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,577,905 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $439,665,000 after buying an additional 255,387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its position in shares of Thomson Reuters by 909.9% in the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 209,993 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,815,000 after acquiring an additional 189,199 shares during the period. 17.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.