Amundi Has $6.26 Million Stock Position in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWS)

Amundi lessened its position in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWS) by 59.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 205,768 shares of the company’s stock after selling 295,835 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in News were worth $6,259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in shares of News by 123.7% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 935 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in News by 136.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,217 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of News by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 2,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of News during the 3rd quarter valued at about $86,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in News by 72.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 1,457 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 14.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded News to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st.

News Trading Up 2.9 %

NWS opened at $30.98 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $17.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.44 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $31.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. News Co. has a 1-year low of $23.99 and a 1-year high of $35.25.

News (NASDAQ:NWS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.01). News had a return on equity of 5.31% and a net margin of 4.22%. Analysts predict that News Co. will post 1.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a yield of 0.6%. News’s payout ratio is 27.40%.

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.