Rhumbline Advisers Has $13.34 Million Stake in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 3.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 772,520 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,161 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.13% of News worth $13,341,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in shares of News by 0.9% in the first quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 169,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,925,000 after purchasing an additional 1,550 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of News by 2.8% in the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 27,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $474,000 after purchasing an additional 753 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in shares of News by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 193,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,519,000 after purchasing an additional 10,964 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of News by 48.5% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 572,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,418,000 after purchasing an additional 186,878 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in News by 9.8% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 292,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,046,000 after acquiring an additional 26,076 shares in the last quarter. 65.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

News Price Performance

Shares of NWSA stock opened at $21.28 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $20.16 and its 200-day moving average is $18.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.16 billion, a PE ratio of 78.81 and a beta of 1.32. News Co. has a 52 week low of $14.87 and a 52 week high of $21.69.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 10th. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.49 billion. News had a return on equity of 3.17% and a net margin of 1.51%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.37 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that News Co. will post 0.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

News Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 13th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 12th. News’s dividend payout ratio is 74.07%.

Insider Activity at News

In related news, CAO Marygrace Degrazio sold 9,754 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.08, for a total value of $205,614.32. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 21,722 shares in the company, valued at $457,899.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Marygrace Degrazio sold 9,754 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.08, for a total value of $205,614.32. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 21,722 shares in the company, valued at $457,899.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan Panuccio sold 184,212 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.97, for a total value of $3,862,925.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 165,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,460,993.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 251,966 shares of company stock worth $5,285,380 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 13.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Guggenheim increased their price objective on News from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on News in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $27.50 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on News from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, News currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $28.13.

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