Maven Securities LTD Acquires 48,622 Shares of News Corporation $NWSA

Maven Securities LTD grew its holdings in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 21.9% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 271,079 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 48,622 shares during the period. Maven Securities LTD’s holdings in News were worth $6,731,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NWSA. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of News by 16.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,356,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $965,673,000 after buying an additional 4,448,929 shares during the period. Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its holdings in News by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 29,934,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $781,877,000 after acquiring an additional 1,137,691 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in News by 2,325.7% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 13,326,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,891,000 after acquiring an additional 12,776,882 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in News by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,458,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,169,000 after purchasing an additional 88,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of News by 11.7% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,072,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $278,607,000 after purchasing an additional 947,687 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

News Trading Down 1.9%

News stock opened at $29.82 on Wednesday. News Corporation has a 1 year low of $22.20 and a 1 year high of $31.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $28.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The stock has a market cap of $16.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.95 and a beta of 0.91.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.25 billion. News had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 7.09%. News’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.19 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that News Corporation will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

News Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a yield of 67.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 9th. News’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of News in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded News from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Citigroup decreased their price target on News from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on News from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.50.

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.