Magnetar Financial LLC Cuts Stake in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Magnetar Financial LLC lowered its position in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 74.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 65,210 shares of the company’s stock after selling 186,281 shares during the quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC’s holdings in News were worth $1,796,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of News by 6.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,799,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $689,397,000 after purchasing an additional 1,476,224 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of News by 124.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,713,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $391,832,000 after purchasing an additional 8,144,856 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of News by 0.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,622,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,457,000 after purchasing an additional 90,419 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of News by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,420,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,733,000 after purchasing an additional 82,577 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of News by 374.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,160,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704,944 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

News Price Performance

NWSA opened at $27.16 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market cap of $15.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.21 and a beta of 1.34. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.04. News had a return on equity of 5.31% and a net margin of 4.22%. Research analysts predict that News Co. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

News Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim increased their price objective on News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note 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. UBS Group raised News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Seaport Res Ptn raised News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on News in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $39.25.

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.