News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) Shares Acquired by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund increased its position in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 57.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,629 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,428 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in News were worth $486,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of News by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 57,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,590,000 after buying an additional 2,558 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of News by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 3,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the period. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new position in News in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,210,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in News by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 151,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,216,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in News by 204.5% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 344,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,447,000 after purchasing an additional 231,056 shares during the period. 66.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on NWSA. Guggenheim raised their price objective on News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group raised News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seaport Res Ptn raised News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on News in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, News presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $39.25.

News Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ NWSA opened at $30.49 on Thursday. News Co. has a 1 year low of $22.65 and a 1 year high of $30.69. The firm has a market cap of $17.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.77 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.73. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.73.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last announced 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 return on equity of 5.31% and a net margin of 4.22%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that News Co. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. News’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.40%.

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.