Cwm LLC Trims Stock Position in News Corporation $NWSA

Key Points

• Cwm LLC cut its stake in News Corporation (NWSA) by 70.3% in Q4, selling 146,745 shares and retaining 61,986 shares valued at about $1.62 million per its SEC filing.
• News Corp beat Q results, reporting $0.40 EPS versus $0.33 expected and $2.36 billion in revenue (up 5.5% YoY); analysts are mixed but the consensus rating is a Moderate Buy with a $37.02 price target.
• Institutional ownership is substantial at 66.97%, with notable activity including Barclays raising its position to roughly 14.88 million shares (up 39.5%), valued at about $456.8 million.

Cwm LLC decreased its position in shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 70.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 61,986 shares of the company's stock after selling 146,745 shares during the period. Cwm LLC's holdings in News were worth $1,619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Permanent Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of News during the 3rd quarter valued at $812,000. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of News by 39.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,875,615 shares of the company's stock valued at $456,830,000 after acquiring an additional 4,214,562 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of News by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,770,946 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,389,000 after acquiring an additional 330,513 shares during the last quarter. GenTrust LLC acquired a new stake in shares of News during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,549,000. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of News during the 3rd quarter valued at $8,799,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NWSA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded News from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered News from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Citigroup reduced their target price on News from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $32.40 target price on News in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded News from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, News presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.02.

News Price Performance

NWSA opened at $26.20 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $24.44 and a 200-day moving average of $25.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.91 and a beta of 0.91. News Corporation has a 12-month low of $22.20 and a 12-month high of $31.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.33 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that News Corporation will post 0.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

News Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a yield of 83.0%. News's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.85%.

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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