Ieq Capital LLC Reduces Stock Position in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Ieq Capital LLC decreased its holdings in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 9.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,825 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,829 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in News were worth $766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Seelaus Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of News by 3.8% in the third quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 11,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of News by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 11,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of News by 18.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of News by 1.2% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 60,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,612,000 after buying an additional 730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in News by 1.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 788 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

News Trading Down 0.4 %

News stock opened at $28.36 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $28.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.80. News Co. has a 1 year low of $22.65 and a 1 year high of $30.69. The stock has a market cap of $16.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.85 and a beta of 1.35. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.04. News had a net margin of 4.22% and a return on equity of 5.31%. On average, equities analysts predict that News Co. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.