UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Purchases 154,348 Shares of News Corporation $NWSA

Key Points

• UBS AM increased its stake in News Corporation by 8.6% in the first quarter, acquiring 154,348 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately $53.1 million.
• Analysts have varied ratings on News stock, with one maintaining a "neutral" rating and others showing optimism by increasing target prices, signaling a generally positive outlook.
• News Corporation declared a half-year dividend of $0.10 per share, with an ex-dividend date set for September 10th, and a yield of 70% reported.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 8.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,950,721 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 154,348 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned 0.34% of News worth $53,099,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of News in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of News by 12,084.6% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,584 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 1,571 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in News in the 1st quarter worth approximately $73,000. CX Institutional acquired a new stake in News in the 1st quarter worth approximately $76,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in News by 714.9% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 4,433 shares of the company's stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 3,889 shares in the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Macquarie reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $32.70 target price on shares of News in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of News from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of News from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $38.62.

News Price Performance

NASDAQ:NWSA opened at $29.23 on Monday. 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 market cap of $16.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.05 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $29.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.17. News Corporation has a 1-year low of $23.38 and a 1-year high of $30.75.

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

News Dividend Announcement

The business 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 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.62%.

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.

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