Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume After Earnings Beat

Thomson Reuters Co. (NYSE:TRI) (TSE:TRI) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. 464,877 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 32% from the previous session’s volume of 353,153 shares.The stock last traded at $170.56 and had previously closed at $165.02.

The business services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Thomson Reuters had a net margin of 33.65% and a return on equity of 15.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share.

Thomson Reuters Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.54 dividend. This is a positive change from Thomson Reuters’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Thomson Reuters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TRI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Thomson Reuters from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Thomson Reuters from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. National Bank Financial raised Thomson Reuters from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com lowered Thomson Reuters from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Thomson Reuters from $163.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $176.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Thomson Reuters

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Thomson Reuters by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 4,047,773 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $630,534,000 after acquiring an additional 295,301 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its holdings in Thomson Reuters by 26.3% in the second quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 1,325,695 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $223,525,000 after purchasing an additional 276,206 shares in the last quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new stake in shares of Thomson Reuters during the 2nd quarter valued at $45,514,000. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in shares of Thomson Reuters by 87.1% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 505,050 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $85,136,000 after buying an additional 235,145 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Thomson Reuters during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,250,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 17.31% of the company’s stock.

Thomson Reuters Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $75.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $168.71 and its 200 day moving average is $166.61.

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.