Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Sells 34,685 Shares of News Corporation $NWSA

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL trimmed its holdings in shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 17.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 166,349 shares of the company’s stock after selling 34,685 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in News were worth $4,147,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Compound Planning Inc. increased its holdings in News by 5.0% during the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 11,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in shares of News during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,145,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of News by 120.6% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 2,326,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,002,000 after purchasing an additional 1,272,083 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of News by 774.5% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 257,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,416,000 after purchasing an additional 227,922 shares during the period. Finally, ABN Amro Investment Solutions purchased a new position in News in the first quarter valued at approximately $256,000. 66.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on NWSA. Wall Street Zen upgraded News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on News from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Zacks Research upgraded News from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of News from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of News in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, News presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $37.14.

News Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ NWSA opened at $27.30 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $14.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.58 and a beta of 0.89. News Corporation has a 52 week low of $22.20 and a 52 week high of $31.61. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.57.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.05. News had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 6.12%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.17 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that News Corporation will post 0.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

News Company Profile

News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWSA) is a global diversified media and information services company headquartered in New York City. It operates through two principal segments: News and Information Services, and Digital Real Estate Services. The company’s news and information division oversees a portfolio of leading newspapers, magazines and digital platforms, offering content across print and online channels. Its properties include Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal and Barron’s, News UK titles such as The Times and The Sun, as well as News Corp Australia mastheads.

In addition to its journalism assets, News Corp is a significant player in book publishing through HarperCollins, one of the world’s largest consumer publishers.