Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Takes $208,000 Position in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 7,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of News by 2,392.9% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in News in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of News in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of News by 49.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of News during the third quarter worth about $85,000. 66.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NWSA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim boosted their price target on News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Loop Capital dropped their price target on News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of News in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $39.25.

News Stock Performance

Shares of NWSA stock opened at $27.16 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $28.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.77. The stock has a market cap of $15.41 billion, a PE ratio of 37.21 and a beta of 1.34. 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 12 month low of $22.65 and a 12 month high of $30.69.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 EPS 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that News Co. will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

News Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. News’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.40%.

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.