IFM Investors Pty Ltd Boosts Stake in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its holdings in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 4.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,473 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,339 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in News were worth $2,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of NWSA. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in News by 104.8% during 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. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of News by 48.2% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 59,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 19,282 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of News during the 3rd quarter valued at about $233,000. Oak Thistle LLC lifted its position in News by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 55,097 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,105,000 after buying an additional 2,192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its stake in News by 47.6% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 66,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,336,000 after buying an additional 21,484 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

News Trading Up 0.0 %

NWSA traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $24.22. 1,725,029 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,036,313. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $25.62 and a 200 day moving average of $23.89. News Co. has a 12-month low of $16.35 and a 12-month high of $28.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.55 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.33.

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

News Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. News’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

About News

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.