West Tower Group LLC Decreases Holdings in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

West Tower Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 43.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,520 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,865 shares during the quarter. West Tower Group LLC’s holdings in News were worth $427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in News by 2,392.9% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in News in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in News in the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in News by 49.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in News in the 3rd quarter worth about $85,000. 66.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

News Price Performance

Shares of NWSA opened at $26.80 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $15.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.71 and a beta of 1.34. News Co. has a twelve month low of $22.65 and a twelve month high of $30.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a 50 day moving average of $28.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.78.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.04. News had a net margin of 4.22% and a return on equity of 5.31%. As a group, analysts predict that News Co. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. News’s payout ratio is currently 27.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upgraded shares of News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of News in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $39.25.

News Profile

News Corporation, a media and information services company, creates and distributes authoritative and engaging content, and other products and services for consumers and businesses worldwide. It operates through six segments: Digital Real Estate Services, Subscription Video Services, Dow Jones, Book Publishing, News Media, and Other.