Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 289,373 Shares of News Corporation $NWSA

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its stakes in News Corporation by 17.4% during the first quarter, holding approximately $37.37 million in stock after selling 289,373 shares.
• A significant portion of News Corporation's shares, 66.97%, are currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds, highlighting strong institutional interest in the company.
• The company recently declared a half-year $0.10 dividend, set to be paid on October 8th, with a yield of 70.0%.

Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its stake in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 17.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,373,051 shares of the company's stock after selling 289,373 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.24% of News worth $37,374,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in News by 1.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,764,497 shares of the company's stock worth $1,409,030,000 after purchasing an additional 812,180 shares during the period. Independent Franchise Partners LLP grew its stake in News by 2.2% during the first quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 27,189,590 shares of the company's stock worth $740,101,000 after purchasing an additional 572,331 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox grew its stake in News by 18.7% during the first quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 13,846,298 shares of the company's stock worth $376,896,000 after purchasing an additional 2,183,613 shares during the period. 59 North Capital Management LP grew its stake in News by 24.4% during the first quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP now owns 11,147,654 shares of the company's stock worth $303,439,000 after purchasing an additional 2,185,542 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in News by 1.5% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,391,564 shares of the company's stock worth $146,758,000 after purchasing an additional 80,282 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.97% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on NWSA shares. Wall Street Zen cut News from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Macquarie reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $32.70 price target on shares of News in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of News in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on News from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $38.62.

News Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NWSA stock traded down $0.65 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $28.77. The company had a trading volume of 4,806,200 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,420,590. 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. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.16. The company has a market cap of $16.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 1.18.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 5.66% and a net margin of 13.21%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.17 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that News Corporation will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

News Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a half year 25 dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a yield of 70.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. News's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.62%.

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.