Northern Trust Corp Buys 237,730 Shares of News Corporation $NWSA

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its ownership in News Corporation by 6.0%, acquiring an additional 237,730 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to approximately 4.19 million shares worth $114.16 million.
• News Corporation reported quarterly earnings of $0.19 per share, meeting analysts' expectations, with revenue reaching $2.11 billion for the period.
• The company has announced a dividend of $0.10 per share to be paid on October 8th, with a substantial dividend yield of 70.0%.

Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 6.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,193,906 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 237,730 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.74% of News worth $114,158,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NWSA. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in shares of News during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of News during the first quarter worth $36,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of News by 12,084.6% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,584 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,571 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional purchased a new stake in shares of News during the first quarter worth $76,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of News by 714.9% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 4,433 shares of the company's stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 3,889 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on NWSA. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of News in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of News from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Macquarie reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $32.70 price target on shares of News in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of News from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $38.62.

News Price Performance

NWSA traded down $0.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $29.41. The stock had a trading volume of 2,068,690 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,421,256. The stock has a market cap of $16.62 billion, a PE ratio of 14.14 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.84. News Corporation has a one year low of $23.38 and a one year high of $30.75. The business has a 50-day moving average of $29.47 and a 200-day moving average of $28.18.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19. News had a return on equity of 5.66% and a net margin of 13.21%.The business had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.17 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that News Corporation will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

News Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a half year 25 dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 70.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. News's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.