Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $3.83 Million Stake in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its stake in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 139,100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,600 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in News were worth $3,831,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of News in the third quarter valued at $39,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in News during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in News during the third quarter worth about $85,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in News by 18.5% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in News during the fourth quarter worth about $137,000. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

News Stock Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ:NWSA opened at $28.53 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.08 and a beta of 1.35. News Co. has a twelve month low of $22.65 and a twelve month high of $30.69. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $28.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.78. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts expect that News Co. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

News Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. News’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Loop Capital reduced their target price on News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn raised News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup began coverage on News in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their target price on News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.25.

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.