News Co. (NASDAQ:NWS) Holdings Raised by Independent Franchise Partners LLP

Independent Franchise Partners LLP boosted its position in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWS - Free Report) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,649,717 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 627,774 shares during the period. News comprises 2.2% of Independent Franchise Partners LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Independent Franchise Partners LLP owned about 1.70% of News worth $293,641,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in News in the 4th quarter valued at $14,338,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of News by 101.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 496,926 shares of the company's stock worth $13,889,000 after buying an additional 249,659 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in News by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,535,237 shares of the company's stock worth $198,867,000 after acquiring an additional 138,680 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of News by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 845,246 shares of the company's stock worth $25,721,000 after purchasing an additional 125,852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in shares of News by 200.3% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 149,136 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,538,000 after purchasing an additional 99,470 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 14.63% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

News Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of News stock traded up $0.25 on Friday, hitting $30.00. 504,239 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 755,943. The stock has a market cap of $17.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.10 and a beta of 1.26. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $31.19 and its 200 day moving average is $30.76.

News (NASDAQ:NWS - 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, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.01). News had a return on equity of 5.31% and a net margin of 4.22%. Equities analysts anticipate that News Co. will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current year.

News Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.