News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) Shares Sold by Yacktman Asset Management LP

Yacktman Asset Management LP reduced its stake in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,739,790 shares of the company’s stock after selling 188,016 shares during the period. News accounts for 3.8% of Yacktman Asset Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Yacktman Asset Management LP owned 2.93% of News worth $410,962,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in News by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 12,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC raised its position in News by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 6,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in News by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 33,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $816,000 after acquiring an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS boosted its holdings in News by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 131,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,231,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of News by 104.8% in the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

News Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NWSA traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $24.24. The company had a trading volume of 1,049,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,707,309. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $25.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.86. News Co. has a one year low of $16.35 and a one year high of $28.00. The firm has a market cap of $13.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.53 and a beta of 1.33.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.56 billion. News had a return on equity of 4.14% and a net margin of 2.29%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.14 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that News Co. will post 0.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 13th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. News’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NWSA shares. Macquarie raised shares of News from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com raised News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, TheStreet raised News from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.50.

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 in six segments: Digital Real Estate Services, Subscription Video Services, Dow Jones, Book Publishing, News Media, and Other.