News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) Shares Purchased by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,168,790 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 58,942 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.21% of News worth $32,188,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in News by 124.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,713,823 shares of the company's stock worth $391,832,000 after purchasing an additional 8,144,856 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in News during the fourth quarter worth $172,357,000. Independent Franchise Partners LLP grew its holdings in News by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 26,617,259 shares of the company's stock valued at $733,039,000 after buying an additional 2,812,080 shares in the last quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of News by 40.2% in the 4th quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP now owns 8,962,112 shares of the company's stock worth $246,817,000 after acquiring an additional 2,569,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of News by 374.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,160,045 shares of the company's stock worth $59,488,000 after acquiring an additional 1,704,944 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on NWSA. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of News to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Guggenheim upped their price objective on News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group raised News from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on News from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of News from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, News currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $38.80.

News Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NWSA traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $28.06. 4,454,906 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,790,913. 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 company has a market cap of $15.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.44 and a beta of 1.30. The stock's 50-day moving average is $26.72 and its 200-day moving average is $27.83. News Co. has a fifty-two week low of $23.38 and a fifty-two week high of $30.69.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2 billion. News had a net margin of 4.22% and a return on equity of 5.31%. The firm's revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.13 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that News Co. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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