Barclays PLC Has $277.98 Million Stake in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Barclays PLC reduced its stake in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 31.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,093,649 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,620,174 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned 1.77% of News worth $277,978,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NWSA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in News by 30.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,458,869 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,850,000 after buying an additional 338,958 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new stake in News in the 4th quarter valued at $374,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of News by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 435,388 shares of the company's stock worth $11,594,000 after purchasing an additional 12,345 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in shares of News by 38.3% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 152,180 shares of the company's stock worth $4,053,000 after acquiring an additional 42,125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased 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 valued at $59,488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704,944 shares in the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

News Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NWSA traded up $0.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $25.86. 2,980,969 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,802,958. News Co. has a fifty-two week low of $22.65 and a fifty-two week high of $30.69. The stock has a market cap of $14.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.43 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $27.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.70.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts anticipate that News Co. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

News Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. News's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group upgraded News from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of News to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup started coverage on shares of News in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of News from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $38.80.

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.