Maven Securities LTD Reduces Stock Position in News Corporation $NWSA

Maven Securities LTD cut its position in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 14.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 234,860 shares of the company’s stock after selling 41,188 shares during the period. News makes up 0.2% of Maven Securities LTD’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Maven Securities LTD’s holdings in News were worth $7,213,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NWSA. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new stake in News in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in News during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in News during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in News during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of News by 154.5% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

News Stock Performance

NWSA opened at $24.34 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $24.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.29. News Corporation has a 1 year low of $22.20 and a 1 year high of $31.61. The stock has a market cap of $13.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.99 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.69.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. News had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 5.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that News Corporation will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

News Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 83.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. News’s payout ratio is currently 9.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on NWSA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of News from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Citigroup cut their price target on News from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered News from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded News from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, News presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.02.

News Company Profile

News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWSA) is a global diversified media and information services company headquartered in New York City. It operates through two principal segments: News and Information Services, and Digital Real Estate Services. The company’s news and information division oversees a portfolio of leading newspapers, magazines and digital platforms, offering content across print and online channels. Its properties include Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal and Barron’s, News UK titles such as The Times and The Sun, as well as News Corp Australia mastheads.

In addition to its journalism assets, News Corp is a significant player in book publishing through HarperCollins, one of the world’s largest consumer publishers.