The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Increases Stock Holdings in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,108,600 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 108,575 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in News were worth $30,531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NWSA. Larson Financial Group LLC grew 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 in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new position in News during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in News in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of News in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of News by 49.7% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on NWSA shares. Guggenheim lifted their target price 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Seaport Res Ptn raised News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on News from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, News has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.80.

News Stock Down 0.2 %

NWSA opened at $27.06 on Friday. News Co. has a 12 month low of $22.65 and a 12 month high of $30.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $26.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.74. The company has a market cap of $15.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.07 and a beta of 1.24.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that News Co. will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

News Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. News’s payout ratio is currently 27.40%.

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.