Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Acquires 421,279 Shares of Thomson Reuters Co. $TRI

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Thomson Reuters by 36.1% in Q1, acquiring an additional 421,279 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 1.59 million shares valued at $274.46 million.
• Several analysts have revised their ratings for Thomson Reuters, with upgraded target prices; for example, Scotiabank raised its target from $188 to $200, reflecting a positive outlook on the stock.
• Thomson Reuters also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.595 per share, which is set to be paid on September 10th, representing an annual yield of 1.4%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Thomson Reuters Co. (NYSE:TRI - Free Report) TSE: TRI by 36.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,588,508 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 421,279 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.35% of Thomson Reuters worth $274,462,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Thomson Reuters by 365.6% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 894,074 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $154,475,000 after acquiring an additional 702,036 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Thomson Reuters by 30.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 17,152 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,964,000 after acquiring an additional 3,988 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in shares of Thomson Reuters by 22.4% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 395,057 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $69,494,000 after acquiring an additional 72,329 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Thomson Reuters during the 1st quarter valued at $6,156,000. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Thomson Reuters during the 1st quarter valued at $34,422,000. Institutional investors own 17.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Securities upgraded Thomson Reuters from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $275.00 to $285.00 in a report on Thursday, August 28th. National Bankshares reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Thomson Reuters in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Thomson Reuters from $215.00 to $208.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Thomson Reuters from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $187.00 to $212.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Thomson Reuters from $181.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $202.82.

Thomson Reuters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TRI traded down $0.92 during trading on Monday, reaching $172.07. 174,398 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 892,254. The company's 50 day moving average is $187.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.55 billion, a PE ratio of 35.20, a PEG ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Thomson Reuters Co. has a 52 week low of $151.60 and a 52 week high of $218.42.

Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI - Get Free Report) TSE: TRI last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.79 billion. Thomson Reuters had a return on equity of 14.62% and a net margin of 30.45%.The company's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Thomson Reuters Co. will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Thomson Reuters Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.595 per share. This represents a $2.38 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. Thomson Reuters's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.75%.

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.