Virtu Financial LLC Has $4.82 Million Stock Position in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Virtu Financial LLC lessened its holdings in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 31.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 175,027 shares of the company’s stock after selling 79,623 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in News were worth $4,820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of News by 2,392.9% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of News during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of News during the third quarter worth $39,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of News during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in News by 49.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

News Stock Down 0.4 %

News stock opened at $27.04 on Friday. News Co. has a 1-year low of $22.65 and a 1-year high of $30.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.04 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.76.

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

News Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. News’s payout ratio is 27.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NWSA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup started coverage on News in a report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim increased 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. StockNews.com upgraded News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. 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 presently has a consensus 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.