LPL Financial LLC Boosts Stake in News Corporation $NWS

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in News Corporation by 77.1%, acquiring an additional 38,858 shares and bringing its total ownership to 89,231 shares, valued at approximately $2.71 million.
• News Corporation reported a net revenue of $2.11 billion for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates, and an EPS of $0.19, slightly above the consensus estimate of $0.18.
• The company announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.10 per share, set to be paid on October 8th, with a dividend yield of 60.0%.

LPL Financial LLC raised its position in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWS - Free Report) by 77.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 89,231 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 38,858 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in News were worth $2,710,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of News by 3,546.2% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 948 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 922 shares during the period. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new stake in shares of News in the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of News in the fourth quarter valued at $96,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of News by 20.3% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 3,210 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 542 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of News by 5,349.4% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 4,523 shares of the company's stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 4,440 shares during the period. 14.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

News Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NWS traded up $0.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $35.17. The company had a trading volume of 559,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 808,964. The company has a market capitalization of $19.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.91 and a beta of 1.23. News Corporation has a 1 year low of $26.25 and a 1 year high of $35.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $33.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.38.

News (NASDAQ:NWS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.09 billion. News had a return on equity of 5.66% and a net margin of 13.21%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that News Corporation will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current year.

News Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a yield of 60.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. News's payout ratio is presently 9.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Zacks Research upgraded News to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

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.