Rivermont Capital Management LP Boosts Stock Position in News Corporation $NWSA

Key Points

• Rivermont Capital Management LP increased its stake in News Corporation by 52.5%, acquiring an additional 323,757 shares, making it the second largest holding in their portfolio.
• Wall Street analysts have given mixed ratings on News shares, with one rating it a Strong Buy and several others issuing Buy or Hold ratings, while the average target price is set at $38.62.
• News Corporation has announced a $0.10 dividend scheduled for payout on October 8th, with a current dividend yield of 70.0%.

Rivermont Capital Management LP lifted its position in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 52.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 940,934 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 323,757 shares during the period. News accounts for about 10.8% of Rivermont Capital Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Rivermont Capital Management LP owned about 0.17% of News worth $25,612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in News by 1.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,764,497 shares of the company's stock worth $1,409,030,000 after purchasing an additional 812,180 shares in the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its stake in shares of News by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 27,189,590 shares of the company's stock worth $740,101,000 after acquiring an additional 572,331 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox lifted its position in News by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 13,846,298 shares of the company's stock valued at $376,896,000 after acquiring an additional 2,183,613 shares during the period. 59 North Capital Management LP boosted its stake in News by 24.4% during the first quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP now owns 11,147,654 shares of the company's stock worth $303,439,000 after acquiring an additional 2,185,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in News by 1.5% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,391,564 shares of the company's stock worth $146,758,000 after purchasing an additional 80,282 shares during the period. 66.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

News Price Performance

Shares of NWSA opened at $29.94 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.14. The firm has a market cap of $16.92 billion, a PE ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. News Corporation has a 1-year low of $23.38 and a 1-year high of $30.75.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.19. News had a return on equity of 5.66% and a net margin of 13.21%.The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.17 earnings per share. News's revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that News Corporation will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

News Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.10 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 70.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. News's dividend payout ratio is 9.62%.

About News

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.

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