News Corporation $NWS Stock: Metropolis Capital Ltd Cuts Position

Key Points

• Metropolis Capital reduced its News Corp. stake by 6.1% in the third quarter, selling 72,078 shares and retaining 1.1 million shares valued at approximately $34.9 million.
• NWS shares rose 1.3% to $33.33, with the stock trading between $25.49 and $35.76 over the past year and carrying a market capitalization of about $18.03 billion.
• News Corp. reported quarterly EPS of $0.35, beating estimates of $0.24, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus despite one recent downgrade to “Hold.”

Metropolis Capital Ltd lessened its stake in shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWS - Free Report) by 6.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,100,538 shares of the company's stock after selling 72,078 shares during the period. News makes up about 1.0% of Metropolis Capital Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Metropolis Capital Ltd owned 0.20% of News worth $34,909,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of News by 79.4% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,717 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 760 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of News by 21.1% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,278 shares of the company's stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of News in the 2nd quarter worth about $65,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in News by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,741 shares of the company's stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in News by 37.2% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,801 shares of the company's stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 14.63% of the company's stock.

News Stock Up 1.3%

NWS stock traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $33.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 207,376 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,392,593. The company has a market cap of $18.03 billion, a PE ratio of 32.40 and a beta of 0.96. News Corporation has a 12 month low of $25.49 and a 12 month high of $35.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm's 50-day moving average is $33.07 and its 200-day moving average is $31.22.

News (NASDAQ:NWS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. News had a return on equity of 7.09% and a net margin of 6.35%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that News Corporation will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 9th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 60.0%. News's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on NWS. Zacks Research downgraded shares of News from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of News in a report on Friday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, News presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

News Company Profile

News Corporation NASDAQ: NWS is a global media and information services company with businesses spanning news, publishing, digital real estate services and subscription-based content. The company operates through a portfolio of brands that serve consumers, professionals and businesses across multiple markets.

Its major operations include Dow Jones, which provides business news, financial information and data through publications such as The Wall Street Journal and Barron's; News Corp Australia and News UK, which publish newspapers and digital news platforms; and HarperCollins Publishers, a global book publishing company.

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