Allianz Asset Management GmbH Acquires 40,145 Shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in News Corporation by 9.2%, holding 475,220 shares valued at approximately $12.94 million.
• Wall Street analysts show mixed sentiments, with one downgrade to "hold" and target prices ranging from $37.00 to $45.00, indicating a consensus target price of $39.20.
• News Corporation reported $0.17 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing estimates, but revenue increased year-over-year by 0.8% to $2.01 billion.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 9.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 475,220 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 40,145 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.08% of News worth $12,935,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of News in the fourth quarter worth $172,357,000. Asset Value Investors Ltd bought a new stake in News in the fourth quarter worth $122,391,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in News by 291.2% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,941,467 shares of the company's stock worth $136,088,000 after purchasing an additional 3,678,215 shares in the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP boosted its holdings in News by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 26,617,259 shares of the company's stock worth $733,039,000 after purchasing an additional 2,812,080 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 59 North Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in News by 40.2% in the fourth quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP now owns 8,962,112 shares of the company's stock worth $246,817,000 after purchasing an additional 2,569,343 shares in the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

News Stock Up 0.6%

NWSA traded up $0.18 during trading on Friday, hitting $29.53. The company had a trading volume of 2,332,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,528,054. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. News Corporation has a one year low of $23.38 and a one year high of $30.75. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $28.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.94. The company has a market capitalization of $16.72 billion, a PE ratio of 34.34 and a beta of 1.23.

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

News 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.