KBC Group NV Has $1.69 Million Stake in News Corporation $NWSA

Key Points

• KBC Group NV trimmed its stake in News Corporation by 45.8% in Q4, selling 54,517 shares and leaving it with 64,571 shares worth about $1.69 million per its latest 13F filing.
• News Corporation beat Q4 estimates with $0.40 EPS vs. $0.33 consensus and revenue of $2.36 billion (up 5.5% YoY); the company has a market cap of $14.42 billion and a P/E of 12.79.
• Analysts are split—three Buys and three Holds—giving News an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $37.02.

KBC Group NV trimmed its stake in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 45.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,571 shares of the company's stock after selling 54,517 shares during the period. KBC Group NV's holdings in News were worth $1,687,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in News in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in News in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in News in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in News in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in News by 154.5% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,285 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of News from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $32.40 target price on shares of News in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of News from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of News from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of News from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, News presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $37.02.

News Price Performance

Shares of News stock opened at $25.97 on Tuesday. News Corporation has a twelve month low of $22.20 and a twelve month high of $31.61. The firm has a market cap of $14.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.79 and a beta of 0.91. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $24.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 1.81.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.07. News had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 5.94%. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that News Corporation will post 0.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

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

News Company Profile

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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