Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Raises Holdings in News Corporation $NWSA

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its News Corp. position by 331% in the second quarter, adding 561,005 shares to own 730,471 shares valued at approximately $18.1 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 66.97% of the company.
• Analysts remain bullish on NWSA, with an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.50, compared with the stock’s recent opening price of $28.52.
• News Corp. exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting adjusted EPS of $0.35 versus the $0.21 consensus and revenue of $2.34 billion, up 10.8% year over year. The company also declared a $0.10-per-share dividend payable October 7 to shareholders of record September 9.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 331.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 730,471 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 561,005 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.13% of News worth $18,138,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of News by 5.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 37,556 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,022,000 after buying an additional 1,950 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in shares of News during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of News during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in News by 44.4% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 16,618 shares of the company's stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 5,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in News during the second quarter worth $545,000. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NWSA. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of News in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of News from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of News from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded News from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Zacks Research raised News from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $38.50.

News Price Performance

NWSA stock opened at $28.52 on Monday. News Corporation has a one year low of $22.20 and a one year high of $31.61. The firm has a market cap of $15.61 billion, a PE ratio of 27.69 and a beta of 0.88. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $26.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.62.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.14. News had a return on equity of 7.09% and a net margin of 6.35%.The company had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.19 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that News Corporation will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

News Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 68.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 9th. News's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.42%.

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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