News Co. (NASDAQ:NWS) Shares Purchased by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWS) by 72.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,478 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,457 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in News were worth $97,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NWS. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of News by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,069,813 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,254,000 after acquiring an additional 295,631 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of News by 101.0% in 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 last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of News by 3,314.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 116,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,262,000 after purchasing an additional 113,300 shares during the last quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd lifted its stake in News by 10.5% in the third quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd now owns 930,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,020,000 after buying an additional 88,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of News by 362.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 94,940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,654,000 after buying an additional 74,405 shares during the last quarter. 14.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Seaport Res Ptn raised News to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st.

News Stock Performance

Shares of NWS stock opened at $33.92 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.64. The company has a market capitalization of $19.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.71 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. News Co. has a 1-year low of $23.99 and a 1-year high of $34.97.

News (NASDAQ:NWS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.01). News had a net margin of 3.49% and a return on equity of 4.76%.

News Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a yield of 0.6%. News’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.26%.

News Company 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.