Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $128.19 Million Stock Holdings in News Corporation $NWSA

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its holdings in News Corporation by 5.1% in Q1, selling 253,664 shares to own approximately 4.71 million shares worth $128.2 million.
• News Corporation announced a quarterly earnings per share of $0.19, matching analysts' expectations, with revenues of $2.11 billion, exceeding estimates of $2.09 billion.
• The company declared a half-year dividend of $0.10 to be paid on October 8th, providing a yield of 70.0% with a payout ratio of 9.62%.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its stake in shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,710,217 shares of the company's stock after selling 253,664 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.83% of News worth $128,187,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWSA. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of News in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,171,000. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in News in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in News by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 59,026 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,626,000 after acquiring an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in News by 132.4% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 468,339 shares of the company's stock worth $12,898,000 after acquiring an additional 266,803 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its stake in shares of News by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 30,242 shares of the company's stock worth $833,000 after acquiring an additional 4,875 shares in the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NWSA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Macquarie reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $32.70 price objective on shares of News in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of News from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of News in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of News from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $38.62.

News Stock Performance

NWSA stock traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $30.14. The stock had a trading volume of 1,959,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,308,488. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.03 billion, a PE ratio of 14.49 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.15. News Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $23.38 and a fifty-two week high of $30.75.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.09 billion. News had a net margin of 13.21% and a return on equity of 5.66%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.17 earnings per share. Analysts predict that News Corporation will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

News Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a yield of 70.0%. News's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.62%.

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.