News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) Shares Bought by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 0.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,317,664 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,930 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.23% of News worth $36,328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UBS Group AG grew its stake in News by 647.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 344,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,461,000 after acquiring an additional 298,521 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of News by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,011,000 after purchasing an additional 1,321 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of News by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 801,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,680,000 after purchasing an additional 8,361 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in News by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 174,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,277,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. purchased a new position in News during the fourth quarter worth about $1,362,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on NWSA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on News from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of News from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, News presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.00.

News Price Performance

NWSA stock opened at $26.63 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $27.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.49. The company has a market cap of $15.18 billion, a PE ratio of 73.97 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. News Co. has a 12-month low of $19.25 and a 12-month high of $28.62.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.01. The firm 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 was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.14 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that News Co. will post 0.87 EPS for the current year.

News Dividend Announcement

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

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.