Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Trims Stock Position in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. decreased its position in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 810,593 shares of the company’s stock after selling 109,005 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of News worth $22,348,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NWSA. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in News in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of News by 153.1% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 989 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of News in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of News by 125.8% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,727 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of News during the first quarter worth $77,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

News Stock Performance

NASDAQ NWSA opened at $27.82 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business’s 50 day moving average is $27.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.28 and a beta of 1.33. News Co. has a 12-month low of $19.25 and a 12-month high of $28.62.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.49 billion. News had a return on equity of 4.28% and a net margin of 2.09%. News’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.14 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that News Co. will post 0.67 EPS for the current year.

News Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 11th. This represents a yield of 0.7%. News’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of News from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th.

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