Prudential Financial Inc. Raises Stake in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Prudential Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 244,855 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,000 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in News were worth $6,743,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NWSA. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 632,721 shares during the last quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new position in News in the 4th quarter worth approximately $411,000. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of News by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 59,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,634,000 after buying an additional 4,493 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of News during the 4th quarter valued at $6,177,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of News by 59.5% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 172,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,756,000 after acquiring an additional 64,438 shares during the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

News Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ NWSA opened at $26.59 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $15.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.43 and a beta of 1.34. News Co. has a 52 week low of $22.65 and a 52 week high of $30.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $28.14 and its 200 day moving average is $27.80.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 research analysts expect that News Co. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

News Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. 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 presently 27.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on NWSA. 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. StockNews.com raised News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group raised shares of News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of News in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.25.

News Company 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.