News Corporation $NWSA Shares Bought by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in News Corporation by 22.0%, owning a total of 1,294,599 shares worth approximately $35.24 million after acquiring an additional 233,820 shares.
• News Corporation announced a dividend of $0.10 per share, to be paid on October 8th, reflecting a dividend yield of 70.0%.
• Analysts have set various target prices for News Corporation stock, with JPMorgan raising its target from $38.00 to $40.00, indicating potential for positive market performance.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its stake in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 22.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,294,599 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 233,820 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.23% of News worth $35,239,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NWSA. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in News by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,764,497 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,409,030,000 after buying an additional 812,180 shares during the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP raised its stake in News by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 27,189,590 shares of the company's stock valued at $740,101,000 after buying an additional 572,331 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox raised its stake in News by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 13,846,298 shares of the company's stock valued at $376,896,000 after buying an additional 2,183,613 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in News by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,391,564 shares of the company's stock valued at $146,758,000 after buying an additional 80,282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Contour Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of News by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. Contour Asset Management LLC now owns 5,382,702 shares of the company's stock worth $148,240,000 after purchasing an additional 936,702 shares in the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

News Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:NWSA traded up $0.50 during trading on Monday, reaching $29.94. 3,796,302 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,301,109. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.92 billion, a PE ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 1.18. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $29.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.13. News Corporation has a 12-month low of $23.38 and a 12-month high of $30.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.72.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.19. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. News had a net margin of 13.21% and a return on equity of 5.66%. News's revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.17 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that News Corporation will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

News Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a half year 25 dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 70.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. News's payout ratio is presently 9.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NWSA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered News from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on News from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Macquarie restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $32.70 price objective on shares of News in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of News in a report on Thursday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $38.62.

News 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.