Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Buys 788 Shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 42,743 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 788 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in News were worth $1,177,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of News in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $990,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in News by 124.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,713,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $391,832,000 after acquiring an additional 8,144,856 shares in the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in News by 313.6% in the third quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 35,145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $936,000 after acquiring an additional 26,648 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of News by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,337,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,512,000 after purchasing an additional 53,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of News by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 180,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,801,000 after purchasing an additional 37,702 shares during the period. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NWSA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Citigroup began coverage on shares of News in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, News presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.25.

News Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NWSA opened at $29.45 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. News Co. has a 12 month low of $22.65 and a 12 month high of $30.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $28.16 and its 200-day moving average is $27.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.75 billion, a PE ratio of 40.34 and a beta of 1.35.

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

News Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. News’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.40%.

About News

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.