Swedbank AB Purchases 171,325 Shares of News Corporation $NWSA

Swedbank AB increased its position in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 89.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 363,651 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 171,325 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in News were worth $9,066,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lifted its holdings in News by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 11,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of News by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of News by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in shares of News by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 151,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,947,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patton Fund Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of News by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 8,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

News Price Performance

Shares of NWSA stock traded down $0.12 on Friday, hitting $27.37. 2,165,762 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,756,671. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.59. News Corporation has a 52 week low of $22.20 and a 52 week high of $31.61. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.47. The firm has a market cap of $14.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.62 and a beta of 0.89.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. News had a return on equity of 6.12% and a net margin of 12.92%.News’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.17 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that News Corporation will post 0.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on NWSA shares. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of News from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Zacks Research upgraded News from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of News in a report on Sunday, May 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded News from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.14.

News Company Profile

News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWSA) is a global diversified media and information services company headquartered in New York City. It operates through two principal segments: News and Information Services, and Digital Real Estate Services. The company’s news and information division oversees a portfolio of leading newspapers, magazines and digital platforms, offering content across print and online channels. Its properties include Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal and Barron’s, News UK titles such as The Times and The Sun, as well as News Corp Australia mastheads.

In addition to its journalism assets, News Corp is a significant player in book publishing through HarperCollins, one of the world’s largest consumer publishers.