Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Sells 79,687 Shares of News Corporation $NWSA

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC cut its stake in News Corporation by 63.4%, selling 79,687 shares and retaining 46,094 shares valued at $1.22 million per its latest 13F filing.
• News beat quarterly estimates with $0.40 EPS (vs. $0.33 expected) and revenue of $2.36 billion (+5.5% YoY), and announced a $0.10 dividend payable April 8 with a record date of March 11.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but the consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $37.02, and institutional investors hold about 66.97% of the stock.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC cut its stake in shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 63.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,094 shares of the company's stock after selling 79,687 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in News were worth $1,220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new stake in News in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of News during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in News in the third quarter worth $35,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in News in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in shares of News by 154.5% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,285 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.97% of the company's stock.

News Stock Performance

NASDAQ NWSA opened at $24.40 on Monday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $24.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.69. News Corporation has a 1 year low of $22.20 and a 1 year high of $31.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.55 billion, a PE ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 0.91.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.07. News had a return on equity of 5.94% and a net margin of 13.35%.The company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.33 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that News Corporation will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

News Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 83.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. News's dividend payout ratio is 9.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on NWSA shares. Morgan Stanley set a $32.40 price objective on shares of News in a report on Friday, February 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on News from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded News from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Zacks Research upgraded News from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of News from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $37.02.

News Profile

News Corporation NASDAQ: NWSA is a global diversified media and information services company headquartered in New York City. It operates through two principal segments: News and Information Services, and Digital Real Estate Services. The company's news and information division oversees a portfolio of leading newspapers, magazines and digital platforms, offering content across print and online channels. Its properties include Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal and Barron's, News UK titles such as The Times and The Sun, as well as News Corp Australia mastheads.

In addition to its journalism assets, News Corp is a significant player in book publishing through HarperCollins, one of the world's largest consumer publishers.

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