Hsbc Holdings PLC Purchases 82,215 Shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 13.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 679,070 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 82,215 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.12% of News worth $18,747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in News during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in shares of News in the 4th quarter worth about $1,255,000. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in News by 647.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 344,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,461,000 after purchasing an additional 298,521 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in News during the 4th quarter valued at about $221,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in News by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,011,000 after purchasing an additional 1,321 shares in the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

News Stock Down 0.8 %

NWSA opened at $26.34 on Monday. News Co. has a twelve month low of $19.25 and a twelve month high of $28.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $27.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.17 and a beta of 1.34.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.01. News had a return on equity of 4.51% and a net margin of 2.64%. The firm had revenue of $2.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that News Co. will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current year.

News Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 11th. News’s payout ratio is currently 55.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NWSA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of News from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on News from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $38.00.

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 in six segments: Digital Real Estate Services, Subscription Video Services, Dow Jones, Book Publishing, News Media, and Other.