Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Thomson Reuters Co. (NYSE:TRI) (TSE:TRI) saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 2,884,619 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 14% from the previous session’s volume of 2,536,621 shares.The stock last traded at $99.6220 and had previously closed at $90.09.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets set a $165.00 target price on shares of Thomson Reuters in a report on Friday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $111.00 price objective on Thomson Reuters and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Thomson Reuters from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $126.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and set a $156.00 price target (down from $189.00) on shares of Thomson Reuters in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Thomson Reuters in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.42.

Thomson Reuters Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $42.90 billion, a PE ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.84. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.01. Thomson Reuters had a net margin of 30.45% and a return on equity of 14.62%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Thomson Reuters Co. will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Thomson Reuters Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a $0.655 dividend. This represents a $2.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Thomson Reuters’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Thomson Reuters’s payout ratio is currently 78.68%.

Institutional Trading of Thomson Reuters

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its position in shares of Thomson Reuters by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Thomson Reuters by 30.9% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 309 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Thomson Reuters by 21.2% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 441 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its holdings in Thomson Reuters by 50.0% in the third quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Thomson Reuters by 3.0% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,274 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 17.31% of the company’s stock.

About Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters (NYSE: TRI) is a multinational information and media company that provides content, technology and services to professionals in the legal, tax & accounting, compliance, risk, corporate and media sectors. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, the company combines news and editorial content from the Reuters news agency with specialist workflow platforms and databases designed to support decision-making and regulatory compliance across industries worldwide.

The company’s product portfolio spans legal research and workflow tools, tax and accounting software, regulatory and risk management solutions, and real-time news and data services.