Barclays PLC Sells 4,620,174 Shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

by · The Markets Daily

Barclays PLC trimmed its position in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA – Free Report) by 31.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,093,649 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,620,174 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned 1.77% of News worth $277,978,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of News by 30.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,458,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,850,000 after purchasing an additional 338,958 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in News in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $374,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of News by 2.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 435,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,594,000 after buying an additional 12,345 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in shares of News by 38.3% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 152,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,053,000 after buying an additional 42,125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of News by 374.6% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,160,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,488,000 after acquiring an additional 1,704,944 shares during the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut News from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Guggenheim upped their price objective on News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Loop Capital cut their target price 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. UBS Group upgraded shares of News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of News in a report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $38.80.

Get Our Latest Research Report on NWSA

News Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ NWSA opened at $26.28 on Tuesday. News Co. has a 52-week low of $22.65 and a 52-week high of $30.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.73. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $27.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.73. The company has a market capitalization of $14.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.00 and a beta of 1.24.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 EPS 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%. Equities analysts forecast that News Co. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

News Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. News’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.40%.

News Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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