News Corporation $NWS Stock Holdings Lifted by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in News Corporation by 5.3%, owning approximately 1.21% of the company, valued at $208.9 million following the purchase of an additional 344,036 shares.
• News Corporation reported earnings per share of $0.19 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.18, with revenue surpassing forecasts at $2.11 billion.
• The company is set to pay a semi-annual dividend of $0.10 on October 8th, which represents a yield of 60.0%.

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWS - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,879,273 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 344,036 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 1.21% of News worth $208,924,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC grew its position in News by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,837 shares of the company's stock worth $147,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in News by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 29,660 shares of the company's stock worth $903,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in News by 20.3% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 3,210 shares of the company's stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in News by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 8,578 shares of the company's stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. grew its position in News by 14.9% during the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 6,711 shares of the company's stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 14.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Zacks Research upgraded shares of News to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy".

News Trading Up 1.0%

News stock opened at $34.57 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $19.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.62 and a beta of 1.23. News Corporation has a 12 month low of $26.25 and a 12 month high of $35.58. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $33.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

News (NASDAQ:NWS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.09 billion. News had a net margin of 13.21% and a return on equity of 5.66%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that News Corporation will post 1.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a yield of 60.0%. News's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.62%.

News Company 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.

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