Teacher Retirement System of Texas Trims Stake in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lessened its holdings in shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 67.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 55,399 shares of the company's stock after selling 115,235 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in News were worth $1,508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in News in the 4th quarter worth approximately $172,357,000. Asset Value Investors Ltd purchased a new stake in News in the 4th quarter worth approximately $122,391,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in News by 291.2% in 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. Independent Franchise Partners LLP raised its holdings in shares of News by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 26,617,259 shares of the company's stock valued at $733,039,000 after purchasing an additional 2,812,080 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 59 North Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of News by 40.2% during the 4th quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP now owns 8,962,112 shares of the company's stock valued at $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.

News Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NWSA traded down $0.06 on Tuesday, hitting $29.68. The stock had a trading volume of 2,731,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,936,105. The stock has a market cap of $16.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.51 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $28.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.80. News Corporation has a 52-week low of $23.38 and a 52-week high of $30.72.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NWSA. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of News in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced 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 lowered shares of News from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, News presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $39.20.

About News

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.