GeoWealth Management LLC Grows Position in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

GeoWealth Management LLC raised its position in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 275.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,537 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,998 shares during the quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC’s holdings in News were worth $263,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of News by 2,392.9% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,005 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in News in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of News during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of News by 49.7% during 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. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of News in the third quarter worth about $85,000. Institutional investors own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

News Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NWSA opened at $26.18 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.85 billion, a PE ratio of 35.86 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.65 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 $30.69. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.70.

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

News Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. News’s payout ratio is 27.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on NWSA. Citigroup started 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. UBS Group raised News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Seaport Res Ptn raised News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded News from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $38.80.

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.