Metis Global Partners LLC Has $345,000 Stake in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,518 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in News were worth $345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of News in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,726,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new stake in News during the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,639,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its position in News by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 17,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $486,000 after buying an additional 6,428 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in News by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 57,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,590,000 after buying an additional 2,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in 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 buying an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Seaport Res Ptn raised News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup assumed coverage on News in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim increased their price target on News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Loop Capital reduced their price target on News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report 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 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.com, News currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $39.25.

News Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NWSA stock opened at $28.14 on Thursday. News Co. has a fifty-two week low of $22.65 and a fifty-two week high of $30.69. The company has a market cap of $15.97 billion, a PE ratio of 38.55 and a beta of 1.35. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $28.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.83.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last announced 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 return on equity of 5.31% and a net margin of 4.22%. Equities analysts predict that News Co. will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

News Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. News’s payout ratio is 27.40%.

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.