The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Grows Holdings in News Corporation $NWSA

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 5.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 674,725 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,585 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.12% of News worth $16,821,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in News during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new stake in News in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in News in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in shares of News by 154.5% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of News by 561.1% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470 shares during the period. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

News Price Performance

NASDAQ NWSA opened at $27.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 1.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $26.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.62. News Corporation has a 52-week low of $22.20 and a 52-week high of $31.61. The company has a market cap of $15.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.71 and a beta of 0.89.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. News had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 6.12%. News’s revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.17 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that News Corporation will post 1.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About News

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.