Savant Capital LLC Boosts Stock Position in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,076 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,411 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in News were worth $443,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWSA. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in shares of News by 477.5% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 18,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $506,000 after acquiring an additional 15,184 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in shares of News by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 42,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,177,000 after acquiring an additional 788 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of News by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 846,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,302,000 after acquiring an additional 27,216 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of News by 35.3% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 38,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,064,000 after acquiring an additional 9,981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of News by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 15,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 2,931 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NWSA shares. Guggenheim boosted their price target on News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup began coverage on News in a report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Loop Capital decreased their target price on News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn raised News to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $39.25.

News Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NWSA opened at $30.21 on Monday. News Co. has a 12-month low of $22.65 and a 12-month high of $30.25. The company has a market capitalization of $17.18 billion, a PE ratio of 41.38 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a 50 day moving average of $28.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.04. News had a return on equity of 5.31% and a net margin of 4.22%. As a group, analysts forecast that News Co. will post 0.94 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. News’s payout ratio is presently 27.40%.

News 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.