News Co. (NASDAQ:NWS) Shares Sold by Yacktman Asset Management LP

Yacktman Asset Management LP trimmed its holdings in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWS) by 98.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,385 shares of the company’s stock after selling 492,445 shares during the period. Yacktman Asset Management LP’s holdings in News were worth $255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp increased its stake in News by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,069,813 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,254,000 after buying an additional 295,631 shares during the period. Metropolis Capital Ltd increased its stake in shares of News by 10.5% during the third quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd now owns 930,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,020,000 after acquiring an additional 88,715 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in News by 101.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 496,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,889,000 after purchasing an additional 249,659 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in News by 11.6% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 250,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,004,000 after purchasing an additional 26,044 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of News by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 199,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,584,000 after purchasing an additional 43,107 shares during the period. 14.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

News Stock Performance

Shares of NWS opened at $34.08 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $31.36 and its 200-day moving average is $29.74. News Co. has a 12-month low of $23.99 and a 12-month high of $34.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.69 and a beta of 1.38.

News (NASDAQ:NWS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.01). News had a return on equity of 5.31% and a net margin of 4.22%. Equities research analysts anticipate that News Co. will post 0.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. News’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded News to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st.

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.