News Corporation $NWSA Shares Acquired by Swedbank AB

Key Points

• Swedbank AB sharply increased its stake in News Corporation, boosting holdings by 77.3% in the fourth quarter to 192,326 shares worth about $5.0 million.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed but constructive, with analysts assigning a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.02 for NWSA.
• News Corporation reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.21 versus $0.16 expected and revenue of $2.19 billion, up 8.8% year over year.

Swedbank AB grew its stake in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 77.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 192,326 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 83,821 shares during the period. Swedbank AB's holdings in News were worth $5,024,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of News by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 36,568 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,123,000 after buying an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of News by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,648 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of News by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,139 shares of the company's stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of News by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 8,753 shares of the company's stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of News by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 126,994 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,900,000 after buying an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NWSA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $32.40 target price on shares of News in a report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of News from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of News from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of News from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of News from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, News currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.02.

News Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NWSA opened at $27.02 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.39. News Corporation has a one year low of $22.20 and a one year high of $31.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 1.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.44 and a beta of 0.89.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.05. News had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 6.10%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.17 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that News Corporation will post 0.97 EPS for the current year.

News Profile

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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