Dodge & Cox Purchases 1,245,278 Shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Dodge & Cox grew its stake in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 12.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,662,685 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,245,278 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox owned about 2.05% of News worth $321,190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of News by 124.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,713,823 shares of the company's stock valued at $391,832,000 after buying an additional 8,144,856 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in News by 30.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,458,869 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,850,000 after purchasing an additional 338,958 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of News in the fourth quarter worth about $374,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position 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 last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in News by 38.3% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 152,180 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,053,000 after buying an additional 42,125 shares during the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

News Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:NWSA traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $25.86. 2,980,969 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,802,958. The company's 50 day moving average is $27.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.70. The company has a market capitalization of $14.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.43 and a beta of 1.24. News Co. has a twelve month low of $22.65 and a twelve month high of $30.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) 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 return on equity of 5.31% and a net margin of 4.22%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that News Co. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a $0.10 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently 27.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on NWSA shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised News to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised News from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on News from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, News presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target 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.