Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Purchases 7,000 Shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. raised its position in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 18.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 45,349 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,000 shares during the period. Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s holdings in News were worth $1,249,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Seelaus Asset Management LLC boosted its position in News by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 11,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in News by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 11,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of News by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 12,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of News by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 60,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,612,000 after purchasing an additional 730 shares during the period. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on NWSA shares. Citigroup started coverage on News in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim increased their price target on News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group raised News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Seaport Res Ptn raised News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, News presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.25.

News Stock Performance

Shares of News stock opened at $28.62 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.24 billion, a PE ratio of 39.21 and a beta of 1.35. News Co. has a 12 month low of $22.65 and a 12 month 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.81.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 EPS 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%. On average, research analysts predict that News Co. will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

News Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. News’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.