Independent Franchise Partners LLP Sells 1,973,408 Shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWS)

Independent Franchise Partners LLP cut its position in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWS - Free Report) by 17.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,299,164 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,973,408 shares during the quarter. News comprises about 2.4% of Independent Franchise Partners LLP's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Independent Franchise Partners LLP owned about 1.63% of News worth $264,003,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NWS. Redwood Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in News in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $636,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of News by 183.8% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 34,579 shares of the company's stock valued at $936,000 after purchasing an additional 22,394 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in News by 156.1% during the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 156,547 shares of the company's stock worth $4,236,000 after purchasing an additional 95,429 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in News by 172.2% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 118,499 shares of the company's stock worth $3,364,000 after purchasing an additional 74,968 shares during the period. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC grew its holdings in News by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 103,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,649,000 after buying an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 14.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Loop Capital upgraded shares of News to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th.

News Price Performance

Shares of News stock traded down $0.20 during trading on Friday, hitting $27.68. 2,254,801 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 753,425. The firm's fifty day moving average is $28.22 and its 200-day moving average is $27.36. The stock has a market cap of $15.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.89 and a beta of 1.37. News Co. has a 52 week low of $20.01 and a 52 week high of $29.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

News (NASDAQ:NWS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $2.58 billion for the quarter. News had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 4.51%.

News Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 11th. News's dividend payout ratio is 55.56%.

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 in six segments: Digital Real Estate Services, Subscription Video Services, Dow Jones, Book Publishing, News Media, and Other.