News Corporation $NWSA Stock Holdings Lifted by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management boosted its News Corporation stake by 687.3%, adding 715,050 shares to hold 819,083 shares worth about $21.39 million (roughly 0.15% of the company).
• Research firms show a mixed view but a consensus of Moderate Buy with an average target of $37.02, based on four Buy and three Hold ratings and recent target/rating revisions from firms including Citigroup and Morgan Stanley.
• Shares traded near $24.26 (52-week range $22.20–$31.61) with a P/E of 11.95 and $13.47B market cap; News beat the quarter (EPS $0.40 vs. $0.33) and announced a $0.10 dividend (ex-dividend March 11, payable April 8).

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 687.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 819,083 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 715,050 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.15% of News worth $21,394,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWSA. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in News by 0.9% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 42,496 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,305,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of News by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 14,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $438,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the period. Kaufman Rossin Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of News by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Kaufman Rossin Wealth LLC now owns 11,161 shares of the company's stock valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of News by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 36,568 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,123,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC increased its stake in shares of News by 6.4% in the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 8,961 shares of the company's stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NWSA. Zacks Research raised News from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded News from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley set a $32.40 price target on News in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded News from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of News from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $37.02.

News Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NWSA opened at $24.26 on Friday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $24.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 1.81. News Corporation has a 52 week low of $22.20 and a 52 week high of $31.61. The firm has a market cap of $13.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 0.98.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. News had a return on equity of 5.94% and a net margin of 13.35%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that News Corporation will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

News Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 83.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. News's payout ratio is presently 9.85%.

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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