Blue Grotto Capital LLC Trims Stock Holdings in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Blue Grotto Capital LLC lowered its stake in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 25.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 600,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200,135 shares during the period. News accounts for approximately 3.0% of Blue Grotto Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Blue Grotto Capital LLC owned 0.11% of News worth $16,524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in News by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 11,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of News by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 3,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its stake in News by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 12,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in News by 49.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in News by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 60,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,612,000 after purchasing an additional 730 shares during the period. 66.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

News Trading Up 0.6 %

NWSA stock opened at $27.46 on Wednesday. News Co. has a one year low of $22.65 and a one year high of $30.69. The company has a market capitalization of $15.58 billion, a PE ratio of 37.62 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $28.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.73.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 predict that News Co. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. News’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NWSA. UBS Group upgraded News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of News in a report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $39.25.

News 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.