Big Sell on Big Data: When Even the Suits Say ‘Enough’s Enough’

Jarislowsky Fraser just said “tag, you’re it” to profit-taking, offloading 124,059 shares of Thomson Reuters for a cool $22.8 million-because nothing says “I still love you” like selling 4% of your stake while keeping $448 million in the bank. Priorities, right?

What Happened

In a move that could either signal a midlife crisis or a masterclass in portfolio yoga, Montreal’s Jarislowsky Fraser trimmed its Thomson Reuters (TRI 0.17%) position by 124,059 shares during Q3. The SEC got its fix via Form 13-F, and math wizards calculated the sale at roughly $22.8 million using that magic number: the average share price. For context, the fund still holds 2.9 million shares worth $448.3 million-enough to buy a small island and name it after their CFO.

What Else to Know

Post-sale, Thomson Reuters now makes up 2.5% of the fund’s 13F AUM-a tidy little corner of their financial fiefdom. Their top five holdings? Think of it as the A-list of Canadian finance: Bank of Nova Scotia, TD, CIBC, Open Text, and BMO. Because nothing says “diversification” like betting on banks and software that makes spreadsheets cry.

  • NYSE:BN: $1 billion (5.6% of AUM)
  • NYSE:TD: $938 million (5.2% of AUM)
  • NYSE:CNI: $836.8 million (4.6% of AUM)
  • NASDAQ:OTEX: $790.7 million (4.3% of AUM)
  • TSX:BMO: $760.4 million (4.2% of AUM)

As of Thursday, Thomson Reuters shares sat at $162.78-a number that sounds impressive until you realize it’s down 2.5% year-to-date. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is sipping champagne at +16%. Class divide: in motion.

Company Overview

Metric Value
Price (as of Thursday) $162.78
Market capitalization $73.4 billion
Revenue (TTM) $7.3 billion
Net income (TTM) $1.6 billion

Company Snapshot

  • Thomson Reuters: the original “information is power” gang, serving up legal research, workflow solutions, and global news to lawyers, accountants, and governments. Because nothing says “trust us” like charging $162 per share for someone else’s data.
  • They run a tech platform that delivers content and workflow tools-basically, Excel for people who still use fax machines.

Thomson Reuters Corporation: a global titan in business info services, specializing in legal, tax, and news solutions. They’ve got a diversified portfolio and tech platforms that probably still use Flash, but hey, it’s high-margin! 💻

Foolish Take

Jarislowsky Fraser’s move reads like a breakup letter: “I still love you, but I need space.” Selling 124k shares isn’t a divorce-it’s more like moving out for a few months to “reassess the relationship.” The fund’s still got $448 million in Thomson Reuters, making it a top-10 holding. Think of it as a long-term partner with a slight case of the Mondays.

Thomson Reuters has been a steady Eeyore in a world of Tigger stocks. Its legal and tax software segments are the corporate equivalent of a good pair of loafers: reliable, unexciting, and occasionally blamed for tripping you in the boardroom. This year? The stock has been slower than a PowerPoint presentation at a funeral. Second-quarter results were a Waterloo moment-EPS dropped despite 9% organic growth and a 5% EBITDA uptick. Investors, ever the drama queens, yawned.

For long-term players, Jarislowsky’s trim is less “game over” and more “let’s take a timeout to buy Netflix stock.” It’s a way to lock in gains from a multiyear rally while keeping a toe in the water for a company that’s basically the librarian of the digital age. Resilient? Check. High-margin? Check. Positioned to benefit from digital transformation? Sure, if by “transformation” you mean “we’ll charge $50 more for the same PDFs.”

Glossary

Assets under management (AUM): The total value of investments managed by a fund. Basically, how much money they’re pretending to know what they’re doing with.

Form 13-F: A quarterly report filed by institutional managers to the SEC. Think of it as the financial version of a text message: brief, boring, and only read by people who need to know.

Post-trade stake: What’s left of your investment after you sell some. Like finding half a cookie in the jar and wondering who the thief was.

Reportable U.S. equity assets: Stocks that must be disclosed in filings. The financial world’s version of “I’m not hiding anything… really.”

Top five holdings: A fund’s biggest bets. If Wall Street were a reality show, this would be the finale lineup.

Trading days: Days when markets are open. Also known as “the days we’re all slightly more anxious about our retirement plans.”

TTM: The 12 months ending with the latest quarter. A financial term that sounds like a spy code but is just math.

Workflow solutions: Software to automate processes. Like giving Excel a personality and a coffee habit.

And there you have it: a stock sale that’s equal parts strategy and “is this thing on?” In the end, maybe Jarislowsky Fraser is just playing 4D chess while the rest of us try to figure out why our RRSPs look like a black hole. 🚀💸

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2025-10-23 20:53