Yacktman Asset Management LP Sells 92,809 Shares of News Corporation $NWSA

Key Points

• Yacktman Asset Management trimmed its News Corporation stake by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 92,809 shares. It still holds 7.33 million shares, making NWSA its 12th-largest position.
• News Corp’s latest earnings beat expectations, reporting $0.21 EPS versus $0.16 expected and revenue of $2.19 billion, up 8.8% year over year. Analysts now expect full-year EPS of 0.97.
• Sentiment remains mixed but constructive: analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with a consensus price target of $37.02. Meanwhile, institutional investors own about 66.97% of the shares.

Yacktman Asset Management LP reduced its position in shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,329,228 shares of the company's stock after selling 92,809 shares during the period. News comprises 2.7% of Yacktman Asset Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Yacktman Asset Management LP owned approximately 1.31% of News worth $191,439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NWSA. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of News by 5.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 37,556 shares of the company's stock worth $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in shares of News during the first quarter worth about $206,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of News during the first quarter worth about $204,000. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in shares of News by 44.4% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 16,618 shares of the company's stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 5,106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of News during the second quarter worth about $545,000. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

News Price Performance

Shares of NWSA opened at $27.02 on Friday. News Corporation has a 52-week low of $22.20 and a 52-week high of $31.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 1.81. The business's 50 day moving average price is $24.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.39. The firm has a market cap of $15.01 billion, a PE ratio of 13.44 and a beta of 0.89.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.05. News had a return on equity of 6.10% and a net margin of 12.92%.The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.17 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that News Corporation will post 0.97 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut News from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded News from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research upgraded News from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Citigroup reduced their target price on News from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $32.40 target price on News in a report on Friday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.02.

About News

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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