Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI) Stock Price

Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI) (TSE:TRI) had its target price hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $165.00 to $177.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on TRI. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Thomson Reuters from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Thomson Reuters from $164.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Thomson Reuters from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Thomson Reuters from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $182.09.

Thomson Reuters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TRI opened at $176.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. Thomson Reuters has a 52 week low of $149.14 and a 52 week high of $178.35. The firm has a market cap of $79.45 billion, a PE ratio of 36.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $163.98 and its 200-day moving average is $165.41.

Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI) (TSE:TRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The business services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Thomson Reuters will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Thomson Reuters Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.595 dividend. This represents a $2.38 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. This is a positive change from Thomson Reuters’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Thomson Reuters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Thomson Reuters

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Thomson Reuters by 115.7% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in Thomson Reuters by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,577,905 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $439,665,000 after buying an additional 255,387 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its stake in Thomson Reuters by 909.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Thomson Reuters by 60.7% during the 4th quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 462,241 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $74,698,000 after acquiring an additional 174,546 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 17.31% of the company’s stock.

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.