Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in News Corporation $NWSA

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management increased its stake in News Corporation by 14.2% in the fourth quarter, adding 102,259 shares to reach 823,989 shares worth about $21.6 million.
• Other major institutional investors also boosted holdings in NWSA, and hedge funds and institutions now own about 66.97% of the company’s stock.
• News Corporation recently posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.21 versus $0.16 expected and revenue of $2.19 billion, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $37.02.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 14.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 823,989 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 102,259 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.15% of News worth $21,580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in NWSA. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of News by 488.0% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,124,507 shares of the company's stock valued at $241,054,000 after acquiring an additional 6,742,836 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of News by 16.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,356,593 shares of the company's stock valued at $965,673,000 after acquiring an additional 4,448,929 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of News by 39.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,875,615 shares of the company's stock valued at $456,830,000 after acquiring an additional 4,214,562 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of News by 46.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,706,339 shares of the company's stock valued at $236,662,000 after acquiring an additional 2,449,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 59 North Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of News by 10.7% during the third quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP now owns 14,009,242 shares of the company's stock valued at $430,224,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358,375 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.97% of the company's stock.

News Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:NWSA opened at $27.02 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $24.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. News Corporation has a 12-month low of $22.20 and a 12-month high of $31.61. The firm has a market cap of $15.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.44 and a beta of 0.89.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.05. News had a return on equity of 6.10% and a net margin of 12.92%.The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.17 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that News Corporation will post 0.97 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on NWSA shares. Zacks Research raised News from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings raised News from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $32.40 price objective on News in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on News from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered News from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.02.

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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