Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. Has $160.43 Million Stock Holdings in News Corporation $NWSA

Key Points

• Burgundy Asset Management trimmed its stake in News Corporation by 1.8% in Q3 and now owns 5,454,879 shares valued at about $160.43 million, representing roughly 0.97% of the company and making News its 25th-largest holding.
• News Corporation beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $0.40 versus $0.33 expected and revenue of $2.36 billion (up 5.5% year-over-year), and announced a $0.10 per-share dividend payable April 8 (record/ex-div date March 11).
• Analysts have a consensus rating of Hold with a $37.02 price target; the stock recently traded near $24.03, with a 52-week range of $22.20–$31.61 and a market cap of about $13.35 billion.

Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lowered its stake in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,454,879 shares of the company's stock after selling 97,739 shares during the period. News accounts for 1.5% of Burgundy Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.97% of News worth $160,428,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NWSA. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of News by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,744,191 shares of the company's stock valued at $145,704,000 after acquiring an additional 49,568 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of News by 1.3% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 255,133 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,835,000 after purchasing an additional 3,379 shares in the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its holdings in shares of News by 83.4% during the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 70,399 shares of the company's stock worth $2,162,000 after purchasing an additional 32,010 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of News by 11.6% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 150,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,622,000 after buying an additional 15,600 shares during the period. Finally, Andra AP fonden raised its holdings in News by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 632,232 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,416,000 after buying an additional 48,300 shares during the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

News Trading Up 0.9%

NWSA opened at $24.03 on Thursday. News Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $22.20 and a fifty-two week high of $31.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.35 billion, a PE ratio of 11.84 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.69. The company's 50-day moving average is $25.17 and its 200 day moving average is $26.67.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.07. News had a return on equity of 5.94% and a net margin of 13.35%.The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.33 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that News Corporation will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a yield of 83.0%. News's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of News from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of News from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on News from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Citigroup reduced their price target on News from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $32.40 price objective on News in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.02.

About News

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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