News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) Shares Acquired by Invesco Ltd.

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in News Corporation by 1.5% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 0.95% of the company, worth about $146.76 million.
• News Corporation's earnings report showed an EPS of $0.19, meeting analyst expectations, with revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, slightly above projections.
• The company announced a dividend of $0.10 per share, with a payment date set for October 8th, representing a yield of 70.0% based on current values.

Invesco Ltd. grew its position in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,391,564 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 80,282 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned about 0.95% of News worth $146,758,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new stake in News during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in News during the first quarter worth $36,000. CX Institutional acquired a new stake in News during the first quarter worth $76,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in News by 714.9% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 4,433 shares of the company's stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 3,889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its stake in News by 53.3% during the first quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 4,600 shares of the company's stock worth $125,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.97% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NWSA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of News in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen cut News from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Macquarie reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $32.70 price objective on shares of News in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $38.34.

News Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ NWSA traded down $0.33 during trading on Friday, reaching $29.47. The stock had a trading volume of 7,741,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,240,672. News Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $23.38 and a fifty-two week high of $30.75. The company has a market cap of $16.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.84. The business's 50-day moving average price is $29.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.10.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.19. News had a return on equity of 5.66% and a net margin of 13.21%. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.17 EPS. News's revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that News Corporation will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

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

News 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.