Swedbank AB Sells 19,928 Shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Swedbank AB trimmed its holdings in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 14.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 116,928 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,928 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in News were worth $3,220,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in News during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in News during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in News during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $79,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in News in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $85,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in News by 1,419.6% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 4,713 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

News Stock Performance

News stock opened at $28.12 on Friday. News Co. has a fifty-two week low of $22.65 and a fifty-two week high of $30.03. The stock has a market cap of $15.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.35 and a beta of 1.35. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.38.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.05. News had a return on equity of 4.76% and a net margin of 3.49%. The company had revenue of $2.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.16 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that News Co. will post 0.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on NWSA shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of News from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Citigroup began coverage on shares of News in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Seaport Res Ptn raised News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Loop Capital lowered their price target on News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.25.

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.