News Co. (NASDAQ:NWS) Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its stake in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWS) by 18.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 52,318 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,073 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in News were worth $1,592,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of News by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,069,813 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,254,000 after acquiring an additional 295,631 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of News by 101.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 496,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,889,000 after purchasing an additional 249,659 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in News by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 845,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,721,000 after purchasing an additional 125,852 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in News by 3,314.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 116,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,262,000 after purchasing an additional 113,300 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in News by 362.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 94,940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,654,000 after purchasing an additional 74,405 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

News Price Performance

NASDAQ:NWS opened at $32.28 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.22 and a beta of 1.38. 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 52 week low of $23.99 and a 52 week high of $35.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $31.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.22.

News (NASDAQ:NWS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 EPS 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%. Equities analysts expect that News Co. will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

News Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. News’s payout ratio is currently 27.40%.

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.