News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) Shares Bought by Artisan Partners Limited Partnership

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,054,112 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,045 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned about 0.36% of News worth $56,570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of News by 2,392.9% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005 shares during the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of News during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in News in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in News during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 660 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NWSA. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group raised News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup began coverage on News in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised News to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.25.

News Stock Performance

Shares of NWSA stock opened at $26.94 on Friday. 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 has a market cap of $15.29 billion, a PE ratio of 36.90 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $28.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.77.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that News Co. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. News’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.