News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its holdings in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 131,905 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,279 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in News were worth $3,633,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Seelaus Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in News by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 11,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of News by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 11,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in News by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 3,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its stake in News by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 60,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,612,000 after purchasing an additional 730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in News by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 41,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,117,000 after purchasing an additional 774 shares in the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

News Trading Up 0.9 %

NWSA stock opened at $30.49 on Thursday. News Co. has a 52 week low of $22.65 and a 52 week high of $30.69. The company has a market cap of $17.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.77 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.73.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 research analysts expect that News Co. will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

News Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. News’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NWSA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup began coverage on shares of News in a report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim boosted their price target on News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group upgraded News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.25.

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.