Franklin Resources Inc. Trims Holdings in Thomson Reuters Co. (NYSE:TRI)

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its holdings in Thomson Reuters Co. (NYSE:TRI) (TSE:TRI) by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 51,808 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 10,935 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Thomson Reuters were worth $8,810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in TRI. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in Thomson Reuters in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its position in shares of Thomson Reuters by 125.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 234 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Clean Yield Group bought a new stake in shares of Thomson Reuters during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Thomson Reuters during the third quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in Thomson Reuters by 104.4% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 327 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. 17.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TRI has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Thomson Reuters from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Thomson Reuters in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. National Bank Financial raised Thomson Reuters from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Thomson Reuters from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Thomson Reuters from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $175.20.

Thomson Reuters Stock Down 0.4 %

TRI stock opened at $162.20 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.93, a P/E/G ratio of 5.69 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Thomson Reuters Co. has a 1-year low of $141.63 and a 1-year high of $176.03. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $165.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $166.55.

Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI) (TSE:TRI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The business services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Thomson Reuters had a return on equity of 14.85% and a net margin of 32.12%. Thomson Reuters’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Thomson Reuters Co. will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thomson Reuters Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This is an increase from Thomson Reuters’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Thomson Reuters’s payout ratio is 42.52%.

Thomson Reuters 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.