ING Groep NV Grows Stock Position in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Key Points

• ING Groep NV increased its stake in News Corporation by 250.3% in Q1, acquiring a total of 276,386 shares valued at approximately $7.52 million.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed reviews on NWSA, with sixes issuing buy ratings while one analyst downgraded the stock from "buy" to "hold".
• Despite a revenue increase of 0.8% year-over-year, News Corporation missed EPS estimates for the last quarter, reporting $0.17 compared to the expected $0.19.

ING Groep NV increased its holdings in shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 250.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 276,386 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 197,492 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV's holdings in News were worth $7,523,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NWSA. Independent Franchise Partners LLP grew its stake in News by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 26,617,259 shares of the company's stock worth $733,039,000 after purchasing an additional 2,812,080 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox raised its holdings in News by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 11,662,685 shares of the company's stock valued at $321,190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,245,278 shares during the period. 59 North Capital Management LP lifted its stake in News by 40.2% in the 4th quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP now owns 8,962,112 shares of the company's stock worth $246,817,000 after purchasing an additional 2,569,343 shares in the last quarter. Contour Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of News by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Contour Asset Management LLC now owns 5,382,702 shares of the company's stock worth $148,240,000 after purchasing an additional 936,702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of News by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,963,881 shares of the company's stock valued at $136,706,000 after buying an additional 166,885 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.97% of the company's stock.

News Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:NWSA traded down $0.46 during trading on Thursday, hitting $28.97. 4,479,810 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,906,071. News Corporation has a 1-year low of $23.38 and a 1-year high of $30.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market cap of $16.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.93 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $28.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.05.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.19. The business 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 firm's revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.17 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that News Corporation will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

News Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of News from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Macquarie reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $32.70 price objective on shares of News in a report on Wednesday. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of News in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of News from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $38.12.

About News

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.