Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 19,444 Shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWS)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWS) by 75.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,455 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,444 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in News were worth $196,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dorsey Wright & Associates increased its stake in News by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 109,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,341,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of News by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of News by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 29,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $910,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in News by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 27,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $756,000 after buying an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in News by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 2,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the period. 14.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

News Price Performance

Shares of NWS stock opened at $30.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.73. News Co. has a fifty-two week low of $23.99 and a fifty-two week high of $35.25. The firm has a market cap of $17.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.10 and a beta of 1.26. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $31.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.80.

News (NASDAQ:NWS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.01). News had a net margin of 4.22% and a return on equity of 5.31%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that News Co. will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current year.

News Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. News’s payout ratio is currently 27.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.