Amundi Sells 1,092,891 Shares of News Corporation $NWSA

Key Points

• Amundi cut its News Corporation stake by 38.3%, selling 1,092,891 shares and retaining 1,763,782 shares valued at approximately $43.97 million. Institutional investors collectively own 66.97% of the company.
• News Corporation exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.21 in earnings per share versus the $0.16 consensus and $2.19 billion in revenue, up 8.8% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus “Buy” rating and a $37.14 price target, compared with the stock’s reported price of $27.56.

Amundi decreased its holdings in shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 38.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,763,782 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,092,891 shares during the period. Amundi owned 0.32% of News worth $43,970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWSA. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in News in the 4th quarter valued at $188,788,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in News by 488.0% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,124,507 shares of the company's stock worth $241,054,000 after purchasing an additional 6,742,836 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in News by 2,348.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,664,644 shares of the company's stock worth $147,961,000 after purchasing an additional 5,433,332 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of News by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,356,593 shares of the company's stock worth $965,673,000 after buying an additional 4,448,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in News by 46.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,706,339 shares of the company's stock valued at $236,662,000 after buying an additional 2,449,552 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.97% of the company's stock.

News Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NWSA opened at $27.56 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $15.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.71 and a beta of 0.88. News Corporation has a 12 month low of $22.20 and a 12 month high of $31.61.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. News had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 6.12%. The company's revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.17 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that News Corporation will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on NWSA shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of News from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Zacks Research raised News from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of News from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of News from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of News in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.14.

News Profile

News Corporation NASDAQ: NWSA is a global diversified media and information services company headquartered in New York City. It operates through two principal segments: News and Information Services, and Digital Real Estate Services. The company's news and information division oversees a portfolio of leading newspapers, magazines and digital platforms, offering content across print and online channels. Its properties include Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal and Barron's, News UK titles such as The Times and The Sun, as well as News Corp Australia mastheads.

In addition to its journalism assets, News Corp is a significant player in book publishing through HarperCollins, one of the world's largest consumer publishers.

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