UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Sells 9,965 Shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd cut its stake in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 14.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 56,988 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,965 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in News were worth $1,569,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC grew its position in News by 124.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,713,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $391,832,000 after purchasing an additional 8,144,856 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of News by 374.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,160,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,488,000 after acquiring an additional 1,704,944 shares during the period. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in News during the third quarter valued at $44,585,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in News by 6.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,799,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $689,397,000 after acquiring an additional 1,476,224 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in News by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 50,952,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,403,227,000 after purchasing an additional 632,721 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on NWSA. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of News in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, News has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.25.

News Price Performance

NASDAQ:NWSA opened at $26.59 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.80. The stock has a market cap of $15.09 billion, a PE ratio of 36.43 and a beta of 1.34. News Co. has a 52 week low of $22.65 and a 52 week high of $30.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.04. News had a net margin of 4.22% and a return on equity of 5.31%. As a group, analysts forecast that News Co. will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

News Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. News’s payout ratio is currently 27.40%.

About News

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.