News Corporation $NWS Stock Holdings Lifted by Bank of America Corp DE

Key Points

• Bank of America more than doubled its News Corp. stake in the first quarter, adding 427,841 shares to own 844,576 shares valued at approximately $24.1 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 14.63% of the company.
• News Corp. reported quarterly earnings of $0.35 per share, beating analysts’ $0.24 estimate, while revenue reached $2.25 billion in line with expectations. Analysts expect full-year earnings of $1.31 per share.
• The company declared a $0.10-per-share dividend payable October 7 to shareholders of record September 9. Recent analyst views were mixed, but the stock maintains a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating.

Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWS - Free Report) by 102.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 844,576 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 427,841 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.15% of News worth $24,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in News in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new stake in News in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Arax Advisory Partners bought a new position in shares of News during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of News by 69.0% in the 4th quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,629 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of News by 74.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,056 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 878 shares during the last quarter. 14.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

News Stock Down 1.5%

NWS stock opened at $32.68 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The company has a 50-day moving average of $30.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.73 and a beta of 0.88. News Corporation has a 52-week low of $25.49 and a 52-week high of $35.31.

News (NASDAQ:NWS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.25 billion. News had a return on equity of 7.09% and a net margin of 6.35%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that News Corporation will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

News Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 60.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. News's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NWS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research lowered News from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded News from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, News currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

About News

News Corporation NASDAQ: NWS is a global media and information services company engaged in news and digital real estate, book publishing and other media businesses. The company's operations include print and digital newsbrands, business and financial information services, consumer platforms for property listings, and a major book publishing arm. Through its subsidiaries and brands, News Corp produces news content, market and financial reporting, online real-estate marketplaces and trade and consumer publishing products.

Key areas of activity include news and information, where the company publishes national and regional newspapers and operates business information services; book publishing through a well-known global publisher; and property-related digital businesses that operate online marketplaces for real estate listings.

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