LPL Financial LLC Sells 1,772 Shares of News Corporation $NWSA

LPL Financial LLC lessened its position in shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 3.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,549 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,772 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in News were worth $1,566,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NWSA. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new position in News in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in News during the first quarter worth about $36,000. CX Institutional acquired a new position in News during the first quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in News by 714.9% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 4,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 3,889 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its position in shares of News by 53.3% during the 1st quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 4,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

News Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NWSA opened at $29.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The firm has a market cap of $16.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $29.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.14. News Corporation has a one year low of $23.38 and a one year high of $30.75.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19. News had a net margin of 13.21% and a return on equity of 5.66%. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.17 earnings per share. News’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that News Corporation will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

News Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a half year 25 dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 70.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. News’s payout ratio is presently 9.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of News from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of News in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $32.70 target price on shares of News in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on News from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, News presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.62.

News 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.