Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 611 Shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 108,592 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 611 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in News were worth $2,991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in News by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 11,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of News by 18.5% during the fourth 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. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in News by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 12,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in News by 49.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in News by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 42,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,177,000 after purchasing an additional 788 shares during the period. 66.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

News Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ NWSA opened at $27.06 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.07 and a beta of 1.34. News Co. has a 1-year low of $22.65 and a 1-year high of $30.69. The business’s 50 day moving average is $28.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.65.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.04. News had a return on equity of 5.31% and a net margin of 4.22%. As a group, research 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 will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued 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 1.48%. News’s payout ratio is 27.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on NWSA. UBS Group raised shares of News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of News in a report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital dropped their price target on News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.25.

News 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.