News Corporation $NWSA Shares Purchased by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 192.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,942 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,543 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in News were worth $1,270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in News in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new position in shares of News in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in shares of News in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in shares of News by 154.5% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of News by 561.1% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 1,470 shares during the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

News Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ NWSA opened at $26.76 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $26.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. News Corporation has a 12-month low of $22.20 and a 12-month high of $31.61. The company has a market cap of $14.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.31 and a beta of 0.89.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.05. News had a return on equity of 6.12% and a net margin of 12.92%.The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.17 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that News Corporation will post 0.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on News from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of News in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded News from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of News from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $37.14.

About News

News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWSA) is a global diversified media and information services company headquartered in New York City. It operates through two principal segments: News and Information Services, and Digital Real Estate Services. The company’s news and information division oversees a portfolio of leading newspapers, magazines and digital platforms, offering content across print and online channels. Its properties include Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal and Barron’s, News UK titles such as The Times and The Sun, as well as News Corp Australia mastheads.

In addition to its journalism assets, News Corp is a significant player in book publishing through HarperCollins, one of the world’s largest consumer publishers.