The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Lowers Position in News Corporation $NWSA

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company sold 429,134 shares of News Corporation, reducing its stake by 38.7% during the first quarter to 679,466 shares, valued at approximately $18.5 million.
• News Corporation announced a $0.10 per share dividend to be paid on October 8th, which represents a significant yield of 70.0% and has a payout ratio of 9.62%.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a mostly positive outlook, with most ratings at "Buy" or "Overweight," and target price estimates ranging from $32.70 to $45.00 per share.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its stake in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 38.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 679,466 shares of the company's stock after selling 429,134 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.12% of News worth $18,495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AXA S.A. raised its stake in News by 89.8% during the fourth quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 59,732 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,645,000 after purchasing an additional 28,264 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in News by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,293,314 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,619,000 after purchasing an additional 148,422 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in News by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,168,790 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,188,000 after purchasing an additional 58,942 shares in the last quarter. Crestline Management LP purchased a new stake in News during the fourth quarter valued at $248,000. Finally, Contour Asset Management LLC raised its stake in News by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Contour Asset Management LLC now owns 5,382,702 shares of the company's stock valued at $148,240,000 after purchasing an additional 936,702 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.97% of the company's stock.

News Trading Down 1.9%

NASDAQ NWSA opened at $28.85 on Wednesday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $29.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $16.30 billion, a PE ratio of 13.87 and a beta of 1.18. News Corporation has a 12 month low of $23.38 and a 12 month high of $30.75.

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

News Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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