QRG Capital Management Inc. Sells 8,253 Shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWS)

QRG Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWS) by 24.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,085 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,253 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in News were worth $794,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWS. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of News by 123.7% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in News by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 2,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in News in the 3rd quarter valued at $86,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in News by 72.1% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 1,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of News by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 3,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. 14.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

News Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NWS opened at $31.69 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.41 and a beta of 1.38. News Co. has a 1 year low of $23.99 and a 1 year high of $35.25. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.30.

News (NASDAQ:NWS) last released 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 net margin of 4.22% and a return on equity of 5.31%. As a group, equities analysts expect that News Co. will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

News Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. News’s payout ratio is 27.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Seaport Res Ptn raised News to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st.

News 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.