Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stake in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 636,100 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,429 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.11% of News worth $17,525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NWSA. Korea Investment CORP lifted its holdings in shares of News by 82.9% during the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 296,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,154,000 after purchasing an additional 134,200 shares during the last quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC increased its position in News by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 8,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 951 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its stake in News by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 244,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,743,000 after buying an additional 9,000 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in News by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 50,952,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,403,227,000 after acquiring an additional 632,721 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of News in the fourth quarter worth $411,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

News Stock Down 1.3 %

NWSA opened at $26.59 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $28.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.43 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. News Co. has a twelve month low of $22.65 and a twelve month high of $30.69.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.04. News had a net margin of 4.22% and a return on equity of 5.31%. Equities research analysts forecast that News Co. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

News Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. News’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NWSA. StockNews.com raised News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of News to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on News in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, News presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $39.25.

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.