Magnetar Financial LLC Reduces Stock Position in News Corporation $NWSA

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC sold 36,333 shares of News Corporation, reducing its holdings by 55.7% to 28,877 shares valued at $786,000.
• Other institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Dodge & Cox, have increased their stakes in News Corporation during the first quarter, reflecting a significant interest in the company.
• News Corporation reported earnings of $0.19 per share, meeting estimates, and announced a $0.10 dividend to be paid on October 8th, 2023.

Magnetar Financial LLC lessened its stake in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 55.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,877 shares of the company's stock after selling 36,333 shares during the quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC's holdings in News were worth $786,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Asset Value Investors Ltd bought a new position in News in the fourth quarter valued at $122,391,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in News by 291.2% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,941,467 shares of the company's stock worth $136,088,000 after buying an additional 3,678,215 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of News in the first quarter valued at about $85,213,000. Dodge & Cox raised its holdings in News by 18.7% during the first quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 13,846,298 shares of the company's stock worth $376,896,000 after acquiring an additional 2,183,613 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Contour Asset Management LLC boosted its position in News by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Contour Asset Management LLC now owns 5,382,702 shares of the company's stock valued at $148,240,000 after purchasing an additional 936,702 shares during the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

News Price Performance

NASDAQ:NWSA traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $29.35. The company had a trading volume of 957,454 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,283,908. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $29.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. News Corporation has a 52-week low of $23.38 and a 52-week high of $30.75. The company has a market capitalization of $16.58 billion, a PE ratio of 14.11 and a beta of 1.18.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19. News had a net margin of 13.21% and a return on equity of 5.66%. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.17 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that News Corporation will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

News Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a half year 25 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a dividend yield of 70.0%. News's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on NWSA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on News from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Macquarie reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $32.70 target price on shares of News in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen cut News from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of News in a report on Thursday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $38.62.

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.