Perpetual Ltd Sells 370,803 Shares of News Corporation $NWS

Perpetual Ltd decreased its position in shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWS) by 65.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 192,313 shares of the company’s stock after selling 370,803 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in News were worth $5,698,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWS. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in News during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of News by 97.0% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of News during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $97,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of News by 226.3% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 2,016 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of News by 15.5% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. 14.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NWS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of News from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of News from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy”.

News Stock Performance

NASDAQ NWS opened at $28.11 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $27.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.34. News Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $25.49 and a fifty-two week high of $35.58. The company has a market cap of $15.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.85 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 1.81.

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

News Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a yield of 73.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. News’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.85%.

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.