News Co. (NASDAQ:NWS) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWS) by 35.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,999 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,637 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in News were worth $852,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NWS. 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 worth $198,254,000 after buying an additional 295,631 shares during the period. Metropolis Capital Ltd increased its stake in News by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd now owns 930,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,020,000 after buying an additional 88,715 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in News by 101.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 496,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,889,000 after buying an additional 249,659 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of News by 11.6% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of News by 27.5% in 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 worth $5,584,000 after purchasing an additional 43,107 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.63% of the company’s stock.

News Price Performance

NWS opened at $34.86 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $31.51 and a 200-day moving average of $29.88. The company has a market capitalization of $19.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.75 and a beta of 1.38. News Co. has a 1-year low of $23.99 and a 1-year high of $34.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.73.

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

News Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research 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.