ING Groep NV Has $2.17 Million Stake in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

ING Groep NV lowered its position in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 81.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 78,894 shares of the company’s stock after selling 350,704 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in News were worth $2,173,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new stake in News in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,639,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its stake in shares of News by 57.4% during the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 17,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $486,000 after acquiring an additional 6,428 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of News by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 57,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,590,000 after acquiring an additional 2,558 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in News by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 3,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the period. Finally, ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new stake in News during the 4th quarter valued at $1,210,000. Institutional investors own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on NWSA shares. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of News in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Guggenheim lifted their price target on News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised News to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $39.25.

News Stock Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ NWSA opened at $28.53 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $16.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.08 and a beta of 1.35. News Co. has a 1-year low of $22.65 and a 1-year high of $30.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a 50 day moving average of $28.23 and a 200-day moving average of $27.77.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that News Co. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

News Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. News’s dividend payout ratio 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.