AXQ Capital LP Trims Stock Position in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

AXQ Capital LP trimmed its holdings in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 51.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,620 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,241 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP’s holdings in News were worth $595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in News by 6.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,799,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $689,397,000 after buying an additional 1,476,224 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in News by 124.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,713,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $391,832,000 after purchasing an additional 8,144,856 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in News by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,622,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,457,000 after purchasing an additional 90,419 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in News by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,420,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,733,000 after purchasing an additional 82,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of News by 374.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,160,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704,944 shares during the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

News Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NWSA opened at $27.04 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $28.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.34 billion, a PE ratio of 37.04 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.65. News Co. has a 12 month low of $22.65 and a 12 month high of $30.69.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that News Co. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

News Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of News in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim boosted their price target on News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, News currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $39.25.

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.