Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Acquires 702 Shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWS)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWS) by 136.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,217 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in News were worth $37,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of News by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,069,813 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,254,000 after buying an additional 295,631 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 purchasing an additional 249,659 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in News by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 845,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,721,000 after buying an additional 125,852 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of News by 362.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 94,940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,654,000 after purchasing an additional 74,405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of News by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 199,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,584,000 after purchasing an additional 43,107 shares during the last quarter. 14.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

News Trading Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ:NWS opened at $30.76 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.14 and a beta of 1.37. News Co. has a one year low of $23.99 and a one year high of $35.25. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $31.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.41.

News (NASDAQ:NWS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.01). News had a return on equity of 5.31% and a net margin of 4.22%. Sell-side analysts forecast that News Co. will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

News Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. News’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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