Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Boosts Stock Position in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its holdings in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 57.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,629 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,428 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in News were worth $486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Seelaus Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of News by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 11,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of News by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 11,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of News by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 3,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of News by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 60,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,612,000 after acquiring an additional 730 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in shares of News by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 41,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,117,000 after acquiring an additional 774 shares during the period. 66.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

News Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NWSA opened at $30.49 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $28.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.73. The stock has a market cap of $17.30 billion, a PE ratio of 41.77 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.73. News Co. has a one year low of $22.65 and a one year high of $30.69.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.04. News had a return on equity of 5.31% and a net margin of 4.22%. On average, analysts forecast that News Co. will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. News’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NWSA. UBS Group upgraded News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com upgraded News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup began coverage on News in a report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded News to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $39.25.

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.