National Pension Service Sells 52,627 Shares of News Corporation $NWSA

Key Points

• National Pension Service cut its News Corp stake by 46.5%, selling 52,627 shares and retaining 60,532 shares valued at approximately $1.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 66.97% of NWSA.
• News Corp exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting adjusted EPS of $0.35 versus the $0.21 consensus and revenue of $2.34 billion, up 10.8% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $38.50, compared with the stock’s reported price of $29.44. The company also declared a $0.10-per-share dividend.

National Pension Service lessened its holdings in shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 46.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 60,532 shares of the company's stock after selling 52,627 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service's holdings in News were worth $1,503,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NWSA. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in News by 3.3% during the second quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 13,861 shares of the company's stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. grew its stake in shares of News by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 11,521 shares of the company's stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the period. Compound Planning Inc. increased its holdings in News by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 11,184 shares of the company's stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in News by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,139 shares of the company's stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in News by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 151,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,947,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

News Stock Performance

News stock opened at $29.44 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $15.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.58 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.51. News Corporation has a 1 year low of $22.20 and a 1 year high of $31.66. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $28.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.62.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. News had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 7.09%. News's revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.19 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that News Corporation will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 68.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. News's dividend payout ratio is 19.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of News in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of News from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on News from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Zacks Research cut News from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, News currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $38.50.

News Profile

News Corp is a global media and information-services company headquartered in New York. The company owns and operates businesses in news, publishing, digital real estate services and subscription-based information products, serving consumers, businesses and professional audiences across multiple markets.

Its portfolio includes Dow Jones, which provides business news, financial information and research through publications and services such as The Wall Street Journal and Barron's; News UK, publisher of The Times, The Sunday Times and The Sun; and News Corp Australia, which operates newspapers and digital media brands.

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