The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Trims Stake in News Corporation $NWSA

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its News Corp stake by 8.9%, selling 60,343 shares and retaining 614,382 shares worth approximately $15.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 66.97% of the company.
• News Corp reported quarterly EPS of $0.35, exceeding the $0.21 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 10.8% year over year to $2.34 billion.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with five Buy ratings and one Hold rating, an overall “Moderate Buy” consensus, and an average price target of $38.50 versus the reported share price of $29.44.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its stake in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 8.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 614,382 shares of the company's stock after selling 60,343 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.11% of News worth $15,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new position in shares of News in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in News in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in News in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in shares of News by 154.5% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,285 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of News by 561.1% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.97% of the company's stock.

News Stock Up 0.2%

NWSA opened at $29.44 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $15.93 billion, a PE ratio of 28.58 and a beta of 0.91. News Corporation has a twelve month low of $22.20 and a twelve month high of $31.66. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $28.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.14. News had a return on equity of 7.09% and a net margin of 6.35%.The company had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.19 EPS. News's revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that News Corporation will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

News Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 68.0%. News's payout ratio is currently 19.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on NWSA shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded News from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Zacks Research cut News from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on News from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of News in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised News from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, News currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $38.50.

About News

News Corp is a global media and information-services company headquartered in New York. The company owns and operates businesses in news, publishing, digital real estate services and subscription-based information products, serving consumers, businesses and professional audiences across multiple markets.

Its portfolio includes Dow Jones, which provides business news, financial information and research through publications and services such as The Wall Street Journal and Barron's; News UK, publisher of The Times, The Sunday Times and The Sun; and News Corp Australia, which operates newspapers and digital media brands.

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