News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) Shares Sold by Independent Franchise Partners LLP

Independent Franchise Partners LLP trimmed its holdings in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 15.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 24,306,600 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,510,551 shares during the period. News makes up approximately 6.2% of Independent Franchise Partners LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Independent Franchise Partners LLP’s holdings in News were worth $670,133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of News by 2.4% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 18,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $482,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in News by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 13,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in News by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 13,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in News by 95.1% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of News by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of News from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on News from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, News currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $38.00.

News Stock Performance

Shares of NWSA opened at $26.34 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. News Co. has a 52-week low of $19.25 and a 52-week high of $28.62. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.48. The company has a market capitalization of $15.01 billion, a PE ratio of 73.17 and a beta of 1.34.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.49 billion. News had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 4.51%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that News Co. will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 11th. This represents a yield of 0.7%. News’s payout ratio is 55.56%.

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 in six segments: Digital Real Estate Services, Subscription Video Services, Dow Jones, Book Publishing, News Media, and Other.