Swiss National Bank Cuts Stock Holdings in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Swiss National Bank lowered its position in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,071,675 shares of the company’s stock after selling 52,700 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.19% of News worth $29,514,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in News by 2,392.9% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in News during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in News during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in News by 49.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of News in the 3rd quarter valued at $85,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

News Price Performance

News stock opened at $27.15 on Tuesday. News Co. has a 52-week low of $22.65 and a 52-week high of $30.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.19 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last released 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that News Co. will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. News’s payout ratio is 27.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NWSA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upgraded shares of News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $39.25.

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.