US Bancorp DE Has $501,000 Stock Position in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

US Bancorp DE lowered its stake in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,182 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,498 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in News were worth $501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in NWSA. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of News in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in News during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in News during the 3rd quarter worth $85,000. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in News by 18.5% during the 4th 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 period. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in News during the 4th quarter worth $137,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

News Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NWSA opened at $26.77 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.82. The company has a market cap of $15.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.67 and a beta of 1.34. News Co. has a one year low of $22.65 and a one year high of $30.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.65.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 4.22% and a return on equity of 5.31%. Research analysts forecast that News Co. will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

News Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. News’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on NWSA shares. Citigroup started coverage on News in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim lifted 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. StockNews.com raised News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Seaport Res Ptn raised News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Loop Capital dropped 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.25.

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.