Korea Investment CORP Acquires 134,200 Shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Korea Investment CORP increased its holdings in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 82.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 296,062 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 134,200 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.05% of News worth $8,154,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of News by 2,392.9% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005 shares during the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in News during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in News during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of News by 49.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of News in the 3rd quarter worth about $85,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

News Price Performance

Shares of NWSA stock opened at $27.22 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $28.13 and its 200 day moving average is $27.81. News Co. has a 1-year low of $22.65 and a 1-year high of $30.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The company has a market cap of $15.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.29 and a beta of 1.34.

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

News Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. News’s payout ratio is presently 27.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NWSA. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Guggenheim increased their price target on News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup started coverage on News in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of News to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $39.25.

About News

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.