American Century Companies Inc. Buys 612,748 Shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 1,044.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 671,387 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 612,748 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of News worth $11,592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in News during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in News by 50.5% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 776 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in News during the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in News during the first quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in News during the first quarter worth about $98,000. Institutional investors own 65.55% of the company’s stock.

News Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NWSA opened at $21.28 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.54. The company has a market capitalization of $12.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.81 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.18. News Co. has a 1-year low of $14.87 and a 1-year high of $21.69.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 10th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.49 billion. News had a net margin of 1.51% and a return on equity of 3.17%. News’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.37 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that News Co. will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at News

In other News news, General Counsel David B. Pitofsky sold 58,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.98, for a total transaction of $1,216,840.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 83,291 shares in the company, valued at $1,747,445.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other News news, CFO Susan Panuccio sold 184,212 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.97, for a total transaction of $3,862,925.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 165,045 shares in the company, valued at $3,460,993.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel David B. Pitofsky sold 58,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.98, for a total transaction of $1,216,840.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 83,291 shares in the company, valued at $1,747,445.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 251,966 shares of company stock valued at $5,285,380 over the last three months. 13.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of News in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $27.50 price target on the stock. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of News from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of News from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, News presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.13.

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.