State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 18,558 Shares of News Corporation $NWSA

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in News Corporation (NWSA) by 14.1%, holding 113,347 shares worth approximately $3,085,000 as of the end of the first quarter.
• News Corporation reported a revenue of $2.11 billion in its last quarter, slightly exceeding analyst estimates, and earnings per share were in line with expectations at $0.19.
• The company announced a dividend of $0.10 per share, which is scheduled to be paid on October 8th, with a dividend payout ratio of 9.62%.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its holdings in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 14.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 113,347 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,558 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in News were worth $3,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NWSA. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of News during the 1st quarter valued at about $6,227,000. Element Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of News during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,703,000. Aberdeen Group plc grew its stake in shares of News by 101.1% during the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 318,483 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,546,000 after purchasing an additional 160,122 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of News by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 5,575 shares of the company's stock valued at $152,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the period. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of News during the 1st quarter valued at about $300,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.97% of the company's stock.

News Price Performance

NWSA traded up $0.76 on Friday, hitting $30.50. 2,448,423 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,489,963. The firm has a market cap of $17.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.66 and a beta of 1.23. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $29.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.15. 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 one year low of $23.38 and a one year high of $30.75.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting 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 the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.17 EPS. The company's revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that News Corporation will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

News Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a half year 25 dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a yield of 70.0%. News's payout ratio is presently 9.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Macquarie restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $32.70 price objective on shares of News in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on News from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of News in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded News from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $38.62.

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.