News Corporation $NWSA Position Trimmed by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors cut its News Corporation stake by 70.3% in the first quarter, selling 43,789 shares and retaining 18,517 shares valued at approximately $462,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 66.97% of the company.
• News Corporation reported quarterly earnings of $0.35 per share, exceeding analyst estimates of $0.21, while revenue reached $2.34 billion and rose 10.8% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with five Buy ratings and one Hold rating producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $38.50, versus a recent share price of $28.63.

Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 70.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,517 shares of the company's stock after selling 43,789 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in News were worth $462,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in News during the fourth quarter worth about $188,788,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in News by 488.0% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,124,507 shares of the company's stock valued at $241,054,000 after acquiring an additional 6,742,836 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of News by 2,348.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,664,644 shares of the company's stock worth $147,961,000 after purchasing an additional 5,433,332 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of News by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,356,593 shares of the company's stock worth $965,673,000 after purchasing an additional 4,448,929 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in News by 46.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,706,339 shares of the company's stock valued at $236,662,000 after purchasing an additional 2,449,552 shares during the period. 66.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

News Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:NWSA opened at $28.63 on Wednesday. News Corporation has a 1 year low of $22.20 and a 1 year high of $31.61. The stock has a market cap of $15.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.80 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a fifty day moving average of $26.97 and a 200-day moving average of $25.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.62.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.25 billion. News had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 7.09%. The company's revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.19 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that News Corporation will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

News Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 68.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 9th. News's payout ratio is 19.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NWSA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on News from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of News from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of News from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of News in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of News from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $38.50.

About News

News Corporation NASDAQ: NWSA is a global diversified media and information services company headquartered in New York City. It operates through two principal segments: News and Information Services, and Digital Real Estate Services. The company's news and information division oversees a portfolio of leading newspapers, magazines and digital platforms, offering content across print and online channels. Its properties include Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal and Barron's, News UK titles such as The Times and The Sun, as well as News Corp Australia mastheads.

In addition to its journalism assets, News Corp is a significant player in book publishing through HarperCollins, one of the world's largest consumer publishers.

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