Sterling Capital Management LLC Raises Position in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWS)

Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWS) by 57.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,831 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,497 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in News were worth $208,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in News by 123.7% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of News by 136.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new stake in News in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in News by 2,892.8% during the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,996 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 14.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

News Stock Up 0.8 %

News stock opened at $30.00 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $17.02 billion, a PE ratio of 41.10 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $31.11 and a 200 day moving average of $30.83. News Co. has a one year low of $23.99 and a one year high of $35.25.

News (NASDAQ:NWS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 5.31% and a net margin of 4.22%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that News Co. will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

News Dividend Announcement

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

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.