Thomson Reuters Co. (NYSE:TRI) Shares Sold by Townsquare Capital LLC

Key Points

• Townsquare Capital LLC reduced its stake in Thomson Reuters Co. by 12.8%, owning 11,914 shares valued at approximately $2.06 million after selling 1,745 shares in Q1.
• Thomson Reuters reported a Q2 earnings per share (EPS) of $0.87, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.83, with a revenue of $1.81 billion, up 2.6% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.595 per share, which results in an annualized yield of 1.4%, with a dividend payout ratio of 65.75%.

Townsquare Capital LLC cut its holdings in shares of Thomson Reuters Co. (NYSE:TRI - Free Report) TSE: TRI by 12.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,914 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,745 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Thomson Reuters were worth $2,058,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its holdings in Thomson Reuters by 772.2% during the 1st quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 157 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in Thomson Reuters during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Thomson Reuters by 41.3% during the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 236 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Thomson Reuters by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 411 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Thomson Reuters by 42.8% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 484 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. 17.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TRI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Thomson Reuters from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. 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 research note on Thursday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Thomson Reuters from $215.00 to $208.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Thomson Reuters from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Thomson Reuters from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $194.20.

Thomson Reuters Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE TRI traded up $3.51 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $171.32. 1,222,615 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 881,692. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Thomson Reuters Co. has a twelve month low of $151.60 and a twelve month high of $218.42. The company has a market cap of $77.20 billion, a PE ratio of 35.03, a P/E/G ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.77. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $196.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.29.

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

Thomson Reuters Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.595 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.38 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Thomson Reuters's payout ratio is 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.