Legal & General Group Plc Trims Holdings in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWS)

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its holdings in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWS - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 455,086 shares of the company's stock after selling 27,730 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.08% of News worth $13,848,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NWS. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in News by 123.7% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 935 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of News by 136.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,217 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares during the period. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of News in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its position in shares of News by 2,892.8% in the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,065 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 1,996 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of News by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 2,668 shares of the company's stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 14.63% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

News Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NWS traded up $0.25 during trading on Friday, reaching $30.00. 504,239 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 756,330. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $23.99 and a 52-week high of $35.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.02 billion, a PE ratio of 41.10 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.76.

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

News Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. News's payout ratio is 27.40%.

News Company 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.