Lee Danner & Bass Inc. Buys Shares of 1,303 News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of News in the third quarter worth $990,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of News by 124.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,713,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $391,832,000 after purchasing an additional 8,144,856 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of News by 1.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,337,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,512,000 after purchasing an additional 53,550 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in News by 26.4% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 180,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,801,000 after acquiring an additional 37,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in News by 381.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 192,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,138,000 after acquiring an additional 152,864 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

News Stock Performance

NASDAQ NWSA opened at $27.04 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.73 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. The firm has a market cap of $15.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.04 and a beta of 1.34.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 forecast that News Co. will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

News Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. News’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.