Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 19,444 Shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWS)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its position in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWS - Free Report) by 75.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,455 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,444 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in News were worth $196,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of News during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $14,338,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in News by 101.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 496,926 shares of the company's stock worth $13,889,000 after acquiring an additional 249,659 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of News by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,535,237 shares of the company's stock worth $198,867,000 after buying an additional 138,680 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in News by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 845,246 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,721,000 after buying an additional 125,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in News by 221.3% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 100,982 shares of the company's stock worth $3,080,000 after acquiring an additional 69,555 shares during the period. 14.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

News Stock Performance

NWS stock traded up $0.27 on Thursday, reaching $30.95. 67,330 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 754,657. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.65. News Co. has a 12 month low of $23.99 and a 12 month high of $35.25. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $30.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.56 billion, a PE ratio of 42.42 and a beta of 1.26.

News (NASDAQ:NWS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.01). News had a net margin of 4.22% and a return on equity of 5.31%. On average, research analysts anticipate that News Co. will post 1.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

News Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a yield of 0.6%. News's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Seaport Res Ptn raised News to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

About News

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.