News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) Shares Sold by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV lessened its holdings in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 59.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 150,846 shares of the company's stock after selling 224,868 shares during the period. KBC Group NV's holdings in News were worth $4,106,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in News by 2,392.9% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of News in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of News during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in News during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in News by 49.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,989 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on NWSA. Wall Street Zen cut shares of News from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of News in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on News from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, News presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $39.20.

News Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:NWSA traded down $0.37 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $29.24. The company had a trading volume of 1,405,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,941,802. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.00 and a beta of 1.23. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $28.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.60. News Corporation has a one year low of $23.38 and a one year high of $30.69.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.02). News had a return on equity of 5.64% and a net margin of 5.18%. The company had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.13 EPS. News's revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that News Corporation will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.