Perpetual Ltd Reduces Holdings in News Corporation $NWS

Key Points

• Perpetual Ltd cut its stake in News Corporation by 65.8% in Q4, selling 370,803 shares and finishing the quarter with 192,313 shares valued at $5.698 million.
• Wall Street sentiment has turned positive, with Weiss Ratings and Zacks upgrading the stock and MarketBeat showing an average rating of Strong Buy.
• News beat quarterly estimates with $0.40 EPS (vs. $0.25 expected) on $2.31 billion in revenue, and announced a $0.10 per-share dividend payable April 8 (ex-dividend March 11).

Perpetual Ltd reduced its holdings in shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWS - Free Report) by 65.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 192,313 shares of the company's stock after selling 370,803 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd's holdings in News were worth $5,698,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of News in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in News by 97.0% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,178 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in News in the third quarter worth about $97,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of News by 226.3% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,907 shares of the company's stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 2,016 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of News by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,027 shares of the company's stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 14.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of News from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Zacks Research raised shares of News from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, News currently has an average rating of "Strong Buy".

News Stock Performance

NASDAQ NWS opened at $28.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. News Corporation has a twelve month low of $25.49 and a twelve month high of $35.58. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $27.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.34. The firm has a market cap of $15.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.85 and a beta of 0.90.

News (NASDAQ:NWS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.15. News had a return on equity of 5.94% and a net margin of 13.35%.The company had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.30 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that News Corporation will post 1.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 73.0%. News's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.85%.

News Profile

News Corporation NASDAQ: NWS is a global media and information services company engaged in news and digital real estate, book publishing and other media businesses. The company's operations include print and digital newsbrands, business and financial information services, consumer platforms for property listings, and a major book publishing arm. Through its subsidiaries and brands, News Corp produces news content, market and financial reporting, online real-estate marketplaces and trade and consumer publishing products.

Key areas of activity include news and information, where the company publishes national and regional newspapers and operates business information services; book publishing through a well-known global publisher; and property-related digital businesses that operate online marketplaces for real estate listings.

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