Swedbank AB Sells 12,404 Shares of News Corporation $NWSA

Key Points

• Swedbank AB reduced its stake in News Corporation by 10.6%, selling 12,404 shares, and now holds 104,524 shares worth approximately $2.845 million.
• News Corporation reported a net margin of 13.21% and earnings of $0.19 per share for the recent quarter, matching analyst expectations.
• The company declared a half-year $0.10 dividend, scheduled for payment on October 8th, with an ex-dividend date of September 10th.

Swedbank AB cut its holdings in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 10.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 104,524 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,404 shares during the period. Swedbank AB's holdings in News were worth $2,845,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NWSA. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in shares of News in the 4th quarter worth about $317,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of News by 135.2% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 124,294 shares of the company's stock worth $3,425,000 after acquiring an additional 71,455 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of News in the 4th quarter worth about $344,000. Man Group plc boosted its position in shares of News by 260.5% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 265,757 shares of the company's stock worth $7,319,000 after purchasing an additional 192,033 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of News by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 132,069 shares of the company's stock worth $3,637,000 after purchasing an additional 5,126 shares in the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

News Trading Up 2.3%

NASDAQ:NWSA opened at $29.89 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $29.45 and a 200-day moving average of $28.18. The company has a market cap of $16.89 billion, a PE ratio of 14.37 and a beta of 1.18. 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 results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19. News had a net margin of 13.21% and a return on equity of 5.66%. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. During the same period last 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 expect that News Corporation will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

News Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a half year 25 dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be given 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 presently 9.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NWSA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on News from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Macquarie reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $32.70 target price on shares of News in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered News from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, News currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $38.62.

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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