News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) Shares Acquired by Norinchukin Bank The

Norinchukin Bank The boosted its holdings in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,198 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares during the period. Norinchukin Bank The’s holdings in News were worth $446,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of News by 124.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,713,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $391,832,000 after purchasing an additional 8,144,856 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in News during the 4th quarter valued at $172,357,000. Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its position in News by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 26,617,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $733,039,000 after buying an additional 2,812,080 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of News by 374.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,160,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,488,000 after acquiring an additional 1,704,944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dodge & Cox lifted its position in shares of News by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 11,662,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,245,278 shares in the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

News Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NWSA opened at $26.18 on Wednesday. News Co. has a fifty-two week low of $22.65 and a fifty-two week high of $30.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $27.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.70. The company has a market cap of $14.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.86 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last issued its 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 return on equity of 5.31% and a net margin of 4.22%. Analysts expect that News Co. will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

News Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. News’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on NWSA. StockNews.com cut News from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup started coverage on shares of News in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded News to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on News from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, News currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.80.

News Company 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.