Twin Tree Management LP Purchases 51,714 Shares of News Corporation $NWSA

Key Points

• Twin Tree Management LP significantly increased its holdings in News Corporation by 188.9% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 51,714 shares to bring its total to 79,092 shares.
• The firm recently announced a dividend of $0.10 per share, which will be paid on October 8th, representing a yield of 70.0% and a dividend payout ratio of 9.62%.
• News Corporation has received varying ratings from analysts, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and a target price of $38.62, including a recent upgrade from JPMorgan Chase & Co. to an "overweight" rating.

Twin Tree Management LP boosted its stake in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 188.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 79,092 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 51,714 shares during the period. Twin Tree Management LP's holdings in News were worth $2,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its stake in News by 39.4% in the 1st quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 26,881 shares of the company's stock valued at $732,000 after purchasing an additional 7,594 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP grew its holdings in News by 18.4% during the 1st quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 324,220 shares of the company's stock worth $8,825,000 after acquiring an additional 50,449 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC grew its holdings in News by 167.2% during the 1st quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 74,343 shares of the company's stock worth $2,024,000 after acquiring an additional 46,518 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in News by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 47,116 shares of the company's stock worth $1,282,000 after acquiring an additional 998 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP grew its holdings in News by 2.2% during 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.97% of the company's stock.

News Trading Up 0.5%

News stock traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $29.44. 3,321,312 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,093,407. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.15 and a beta of 1.18. News Corporation has a 12 month low of $23.38 and a 12 month high of $30.75. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $29.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

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

News Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 70.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. News's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of News from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of News in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of News from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Macquarie restated a "neutral" rating and set a $32.70 price target on shares of News in a report 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average 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.