Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stake in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWS)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWS) by 221.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,982 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 69,555 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in News were worth $3,080,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in shares of News by 123.7% in 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 increased its position in shares of News by 136.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of News by 2,892.8% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,996 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of News by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 2,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of News in the third quarter worth about $86,000. 14.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

News Stock Performance

Shares of NWS stock opened at $30.28 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $32.01 and a 200 day moving average of $30.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.48 and a beta of 1.37. News Co. has a 52 week low of $23.99 and a 52 week high of $35.25.

News (NASDAQ:NWS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.01). News had a net margin of 4.22% and a return on equity of 5.31%. As a group, research analysts expect that News Co. will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current year.

News Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. News’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.