Ballentine Partners LLC Trims Holdings in News Corporation $NWSA

Key Points

• Ballentine Partners LLC reduced its stake in News Corporation by 50.4% in the second quarter, owning 8,657 shares valued at $257,000 after selling 8,804 shares.
• The company declared a $0.10 dividend with a yield of 70.0%, scheduled for payment on October 8th to shareholders of record on September 10th.
• News Corporation's recent quarterly earnings met analysts' estimates with earnings per share of $0.19 and revenue of $2.11 billion, reflecting a 0.8% increase year-over-year.

Ballentine Partners LLC cut its stake in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 50.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,657 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,804 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC's holdings in News were worth $257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of News by 3.5% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 11,833 shares of the company's stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its stake in News by 7.7% during the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 5,575 shares of the company's stock valued at $152,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in News by 5.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,545 shares of the company's stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in News by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 6,465 shares of the company's stock worth $176,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hartford Investment Management Co. boosted its position in shares of News by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. now owns 23,068 shares of the company's stock valued at $628,000 after acquiring an additional 635 shares during the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

News Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NWSA opened at $31.03 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $17.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.92 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. News Corporation has a 1-year low of $23.38 and a 1-year high of $31.11. The stock's 50-day moving average is $29.61 and its 200 day moving average is $28.38.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts' expectations of $2.09 billion. News had a return on equity of 5.66% and a net margin of 13.21%.News's revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.17 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that News Corporation will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NWSA shares. Macquarie reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $32.70 price target on shares of News in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on News from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $38.62.

News Company 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.

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