Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 900 Shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in News were worth $562,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NWSA. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of News during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of News during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of News during the third quarter valued at approximately $85,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of News by 1,419.6% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 4,713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of News in the fourth quarter valued at $137,000. Institutional investors own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

News Price Performance

NASDAQ NWSA opened at $30.21 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a fifty day moving average of $28.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.38 and a beta of 1.35. News Co. has a 52 week low of $22.65 and a 52 week high of $30.31.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last issued its 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 net margin of 4.22% and a return on equity of 5.31%. On average, analysts predict that News Co. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

News Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. News’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.