JPMorgan Chase & Co. Grows Stock Holdings in News Corporation $NWS

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWS) by 14.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 661,412 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 81,986 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.12% of News worth $22,852,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in News by 2.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 846,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,036,000 after purchasing an additional 21,638 shares during the last quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of News by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd now owns 766,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,469,000 after purchasing an additional 81,387 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of News in the 3rd quarter worth $19,456,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in News by 81.0% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 526,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,077,000 after buying an additional 235,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in News by 352.2% during the 2nd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 444,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,252,000 after buying an additional 346,233 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 14.63% of the company’s stock.

News Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NWS opened at $26.78 on Monday. News Corporation has a 52 week low of $25.49 and a 52 week high of $35.58. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $28.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market cap of $14.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 0.96.

News (NASDAQ:NWS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. News had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 5.94%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that News Corporation will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current year.

News Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a yield of 73.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. News’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NWS shares. Weiss Ratings lowered News from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of News from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, News presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

About News

News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS) is a global media and information services company engaged in news and digital real estate, book publishing and other media businesses. The company’s operations include print and digital newsbrands, business and financial information services, consumer platforms for property listings, and a major book publishing arm. Through its subsidiaries and brands, News Corp produces news content, market and financial reporting, online real-estate marketplaces and trade and consumer publishing products.

Key areas of activity include news and information, where the company publishes national and regional newspapers and operates business information services; book publishing through a well-known global publisher; and property-related digital businesses that operate online marketplaces for real estate listings.