Hsbc Holdings PLC Acquires 110,533 Shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 16.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 802,468 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 110,533 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.14% of News worth $22,113,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of News by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 21,962 shares of the company's stock worth $605,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in News by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 11,576 shares of the company's stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in News by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 3,334 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its position in shares of News by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 12,518 shares of the company's stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of News by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 108,592 shares of the company's stock worth $2,991,000 after buying an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NWSA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of News from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded News to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Guggenheim raised their target price on News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup assumed coverage on News in a report on Friday, January 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of News from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $38.80.

News Price Performance

Shares of NWSA stock opened at $27.13 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $26.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.72. 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 company has a market capitalization of $15.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.16 and a beta of 1.24. News Co. has a 12 month low of $22.65 and a 12 month high of $30.69.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 4.22% and a return on equity of 5.31%. As a group, equities analysts expect that News Co. will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

News Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. News's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.40%.

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.

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