Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 16,311 Shares of Thomson Reuters Co. (NYSE:TRI)

Clearbridge Investments LLC reduced its position in shares of Thomson Reuters Co. (NYSE:TRI) (TSE:TRI) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,376,012 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 16,311 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Thomson Reuters were worth $220,685,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TRI. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Thomson Reuters by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,381,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $864,195,000 after purchasing an additional 76,382 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Thomson Reuters by 12.2% during the fourth 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 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 valued at $185,011,000 after buying an additional 395,481 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position 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 valued at $164,292,000 after buying an additional 516,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Thomson Reuters during the 4th quarter worth approximately $148,221,000. 17.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Thomson Reuters Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of TRI opened at $171.01 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.97 billion, a PE ratio of 34.97, a P/E/G ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $172.29 and its 200-day moving average is $167.91. Thomson Reuters Co. has a 12 month low of $149.50 and a 12 month high of $180.42.

Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI) (TSE:TRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The business services provider reported $1.01 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 research analysts forecast that Thomson Reuters Co. will post 3.89 EPS for the current year.

Thomson Reuters Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.595 per share. This is a boost from Thomson Reuters’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $2.38 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Thomson Reuters’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on TRI shares. Scotiabank increased their price target on Thomson Reuters from $187.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Thomson Reuters from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of 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 increased their price target on shares of Thomson Reuters from $168.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Thomson Reuters from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Thomson Reuters currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $177.56.

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.